The complete reviews Review: Robert Frasers 1980 monograph, The Novels of Ayi Kwei Armah covers Ayi Kwei Armahs first five novels: The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born, Fragments, Why are we so Blest ?, Two Thousand Seasons (see our review), and The Healers. The last of these was published in 1978; Armah has since published one more novel (Osiris Rising (1995)). Fraser begins with an introductory chapter, The Context: Liberation and Resistance -- suggesting his approach to Armahs polemical fiction (so his subtitle). He offers a useful brief introduction to Armahs life and career. Armah studied abroad during the 1960s (he attended high school (Groton) and college (Harvard) in the United States, as well getting an M.F.A. from Columbia) and his first two novels were first published in the United States -- crucial years these for the political integrity of black Africa, as Fraser notes. Armah also worked throughout Africa. He was a translator in Algeria, and taught in Tanzania and Lesotho, making him familiar with a variety of African experiences and political experiments. In five chapters Fraser then goes through each of the novels, offering an overview and interpretation of each. His introductions are quite broad, making them useful even for those who are not familiar with one or more of the texts under discussion. Frasers assessments are quite balanced, acknowledging specific weaknesses and pointing to the particular strengths of each work. He also takes a variety of criticisms and reactions to the novels into account, while offering a larger, more rounded opinion himself. His discussion of Two Thousand Seasons also offers a useful comparison to Yambo Ouologuems Bound to Violence (see our review). A useful, concise introduction to Armahs best known works.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 10:57:49 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015