230. Fathers & Daughters - An Anthology of Exploration by Ato Quayson (Editor)
Fathers & Daughters - An Anthology of Exploration (Ayebia Clarke, 2008; 200) is a collection of essays, poems and short stories about the relationships between daughters and fathers told from the point of view of either the father or the daughter. There is that belief, true or otherwise, that a daughter's first love is the father. Yet, it is all too clear that in Africa, this father-daughter relationship has poorly been explored. Ato Quayson's book is the first book I have come across that donates its pages to such an important exploration. It is said that until the lion learns to speak, tales of the hunt will always favour the hunter. Thus, until fathers learn to tell their side of the stories, men's representation in African novels will always go against them. The role of men in books like Nervous Conditions , So Long a Letter , Joys of Motherhood , Purple Violet of Oshaantu , Purple Hibiscus , Opening Spaces: African Women Writing and many others are nothing...