THIS EARTH, MY BROTHER: An Allegorical Tale of Africa

by Kofi Awoonor ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 19, 1971

This is allegorical only in the broadest possible sense, the hero being a sort of Every-African-Intellectual whose hopes and disillusionments parallel his 'emerging' country's vicissitudes. Amamu is a withdrawn young Ghanaian lawyer with a British education and a brittle, Europeanized wife. This is less his story than the contents of his mind -- experiences and anecdotes dating back to the colonial period and extending through the fall of Nkrumah, and, dominating all else, the coral-toothed, black-nippled mermaid who personifies his dream Africa. Much of this will be unintelligible to American readers, and only partially because of esoteric references (durbar, rum name, Aladuras): Mr. Awoonor, a poet, tends to offer suggestive gorgeousness where plain information would do better. Readers can look up what they need to know about Ghana, but can only wonder what motivates Amamu. Between his blank exterior and his poetically crowded interior there is little suggestion of a personality, and without it the novel can add little to what we already know about the impasse of the African intelligentsia.

Pub Date: March 19, 1971

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1971

Categories: FICTION