ImageNations

Naguib Mahfouz Last week, on the 7th October 2010, lovers of African Literature kept their fingers crossed waiting for the Nobel committee to announce their choice of the laureate for 2010. Ngugi wa Thiong'o, whose latest novel, The Wizard of the Crow, caused the Arap Moi government to go in search of its main character, and when upon finding that it is a creation of the author caused him (the government of Kenya) to publicly burn a thousand copies of his book, was tipped to win the award. The odds were in his favour. And knowing the penchant for the Nobel's committee to always 'dodge' mainstream predictions, I waited with skepticism. Yet, I prayed silently to a god unknown for this great man, who has forsaken all financial enticements to write in his native Gikuyu to win the award. And the Nobel committee never disappointed, they only disappointed me. But for Ngugi to have been an odds favourite to win speaks volumes of the man's contribution to literature and...

Title: Palace Walk Author: Naguib Mahfouz Translators: William Maynard Hutchins and Olive E. Kenny Original Language: Arabic Genre: Fiction/Socio-political Publishers: Anchor Books Pages: 498 Year of First Publication: 1956 Country: Egypt Al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad is the head of the al-Sayyid household on Palace Walk. Ahmad, as he is commonly referred to, is not a man like others. He believes in strict moral uprightness, unwavering respect and obedience and greatly abhors any attempt to challenge his position as the head of the household either from his sons, daughters, or wife. Consequently, he is strict, stern, firm and irascible. And even in a culture where nothing is held in highest esteem than self-preservation and morality of women, he is considered by his friends as extreme. But Ahmad is a man of dual personality: with his friends he is jovial and friendly. He laughs heartily and is known to be a great orator. And when he is with his concubine, the ...

I have already blogged on the challenges I would be participating in this year. Most of my challenges have been self developed and I hardly join in other challenges except the Ghanaian Literature Week and the Nigerian Independence Book Reading Challenge hosted by Kinna and Amy respectively. This year, I am taking a step away from my comfort zone and participating, formally, in external reading challenges whilst making sure that all books I read also meet other reading challenges such as the Top 100 Books Reading Challenge.   AFRICA LITERATURE READING CHALLENGE When I blogged about my challenges for this year, I mentioned the Africa Reading Challenge to be hosted by Kinna . After days of deliberation, Kinna has finally put up the rules for this challenge. The rules are simple. The reader is supposed to have fun and get to explore Africa. He/She at the end would have actually visited several African countries through books. The rules are: REGION: The entire African con...

After reading numerous blogs, I have decided to also challenge myself by assigning to myself 100 books to be read in 5 years, depending on availability and cost. The first set of books comes from Africa's Top 100 books as researched by the Zimbabwe Library Foundation . If I should come across interesting translations from Francophone and Lusophone writers, I would read them alongside these. As it stands now, all these writers are from Anglophone countries (except Mahfouz Naguib, from Egypt). Since this list contains mostly the classic, new writers would be read alongside these. Note: All books by the following authors would be read as and when they become available: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie  Books I have read would be italicised; Books I have read and reviewed on this blog would be italicised, crossed and linked; Books from Africa's Top 100 Books by the Zimbabwean Library Foundation: Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Anowa by Ama...

Few books have come into my possession which I would love to share with you. As always. Harare North  by Brian Chikwava . Having been described as one of the 'exciting new generation of African writers' Brian Chikwava has moved on from strength to strength ever since he won the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2004 with his short story Seventh Street Alchemy . Brian has been one of the most recommended authors to ImageNations and even though I took the recommendations seriously the book proved elusive until I visited the Silverbird Lifestyle Shop located within the Accra Mall. What I have is a beautifully bound book (hardcover, of course!) from the stables of Jonathan Cape selling at GHC 28.5 or US$ 19. My only encounter with Chikwava is through his short story The Wasp and the Fig tree  published at the Granta magazine. Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz . Mahfouz is a Nobelist. What more there is to say? His book Cairo Trilogy  of which Palace Walk  is th...

Last week I introduced a new series I wanted to run on ImageNations called  Readers' Top Ten . I said one of its aims was to introduce readers to the rich literature Africa has to offer. The series begins today with Kinna Reads.  About Kinna:  Kinna is a book blogger at  Kinna Reads  among many other things. On her blog Kinna says I grew up in literary, bookish household. I love books, reading, nurturing and developing my appreciation for the art form. I read mostly fiction, both contemporary and classic. I really  enjoy world literature. I'm partial to women writers and their works, especially African women writers. Below is Kinna's Top Ten . Note that I have linked the titles and authors to posts within ImageNations, where available. My views and Kinna's might not be the same and so beware when reading them. ____________________________ Where do I begin?  So first, I consider this blog’s owner, Nana Fredua, a friend.   He is read...

This list excludes single stories. Single stories are uncollected short stories published in magazines, blogs, online newspapers, and other places. It is believed that such stories would be collected by author and later 'formally' published, hence their exclusion. -1900 to 1909- -- -1910 to 1919- -- -1920 to 1929- The Castle :  Franz  Kafka Death Comes for the Archbishop : Willa Cather A Farewell to Arms :  Ernest Hemingway The Great Gatsby : F. Scott Fitzgerald Mrs. Dalloway : Virginia Woolf The Trial : Franz Kafka -1930 to 1939- Absalom, Absalom! :  William  Faulkner Auto da Fe :   Elias  Canetti Brave New World:   Aldous Huxley Chaka:  Thomas Mofolo Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day : Winifred Watson Theatre :   Somerset  W.   Maugham -1940 to 1949- 1984 :  George Orwell The Catcher in the Rye :  J.D. Salinger Cry, the Beloved Country:  Alan Paton Mine Boy:   ...