List Books During The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born
| Original Title: | The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born (African Writers) |
| ISBN: | 0435905406 (ISBN13: 9780435905408) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Setting: | Ghana |
Ayi Kwei Armah
Paperback | Pages: 191 pages Rating: 3.9 | 2495 Users | 178 Reviews
Define Based On Books The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born
| Title | : | The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born |
| Author | : | Ayi Kwei Armah |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 191 pages |
| Published | : | October 23rd 1989 by Heinemann Educational Books (first published January 1st 1969) |
| Categories | : | Cultural. Africa. Fiction. Western Africa. Ghana. Literature. African Literature. Historical. Historical Fiction |
Narrative In Favor Of Books The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born
A railway freight clerk in Ghana attempts to hold out against the pressures that impel him toward corruption in both his family and his country. The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born is the novel that catapulted Ayi Kwei Armah into the limelight. The novel is generally a satirical attack on the Ghanaian society during Kwame Nkrumah’s regime and the period immediately after independence in the 1960s. It is often claimed to rank with "Things Fall Apart" as one of the high points of post-colonial African Literature. A quote from Chapter 6: "And where is my solid ground these days? Let us say just that the cycle from birth to decay has been short. Short, brief. But otherwise not at all unusual. And even in the decline into the end there are things that remind the longing mind of old beginnings and hold out the promise of new ones, things even like your despair itself. I have heard this pain before, only then it was multiplied many, many times, but that may only be because at that time I was not so alone, so far apart. Maybe there are other lonely voices despairing now. I will not be entranced by the voice, even if it should swell as it did in the days of hope. I will not be entranced, since I have seen the destruction of the promises it made. But I shall not resist it either. I will be like a cork. It is so surprising, is it not, how even the worst happenings of the past acquire a sweetness in the memory. Old harsh distresses are now merely pictures and tastes which hurt no more, like itching scars which can only give pleasure now. Strange, because when I can think soberly about it all, with out pushing any later joys into the deepr past, I can remember that things were terrible then. When the war was over the soldiers came back to homes broken in their absence and they themselves brought murder in their hearts and gave it to those nearest them. I saw it, not very clearly, because I had no way of understanding it, but it frightened me. We had gone on marches of victory and I do not think there was anyone mean enough in spirit to ask whether we knew what we were celebrating. Whose victory? Ours? It did not matter. We marched, and only a dishonest fool will look back on his boyhood and say he knew even then that there was no meaning in any of it. It is so funny now, to remember that we all thought we were welcoming victory. Or perhaps there is nothing funny here at all, and it is only that victory itself happens to be the identical twin of defeat. "Rating Based On Books The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born
Ratings: 3.9 From 2495 Users | 178 ReviewsDiscuss Based On Books The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born
All the Beautyful Ones are Not Yet Born, by Ayi Kwei Armah, is an excellent read and the second-best book I read all year, after Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo.Armah wrote this novel in 1968, only eleven years after Ghana got its independence, and he is often considered to be from the "second generation" of African writers. The first generation wrote around the time of independence and was filled with optimism. Things went bad quickly, though, as Armah's book shows.The story follows anthere is a part that goes:"When the war was over the soldiers came back to homes broken in their absence and they themselves brought murder in their hearts and gave it to those nearest them".& this entire novel is equally, sublimely, stunning.I really do think that Ayi Kwei Armah is that meeting-place of postcolonialism & poetrythat is so so important & cruciallike every word that Gayatri Spivak ever uttersis poetic, w/ purposeI wish I had splurged & bought a print-copy of this
The story of Africa told through a man who refused to bend his values to fit into the system... It is always interesting to see how African countries are similar when it comes to politics. The era that this book talks about was the most challenging in African politics, and the writer managed to pen it down so well. The story pulls you in gently while reminding you of the path we have travelled, and are still travelling, as Africans in politics. I really enjoyed it.
This is one of those novels where the scale of love and hate is at balance. The writing style is beautifully disgusting that it will render you nauseous. Armah's vivid description of whatever comes out of human orifices is but a technique to portray the corrupted and 'shit-caked' politics of Ghana. The beauty of the book lies in the fact that one can see his country's reflection within the lines of the book: It isn't as Afrocentric as it seems. The book is raw and literally dirty, but
This book literally changed my life! I read it when I was in Africa-- Ghana more specifically. I was really able to gain a perspective on life in West Africa, my own identity, and the political environment and fervor which creates acts of revolution. Everyone will find something amazing in this book.
In 2008 I visited Ghana for my first time. While there, I asked a few people if I was to read one book about Ghana, what book should I read. This was the book that so many of my friends mentioned. I didn't read it for many years, until my second visit to Ghana in 2014. I started reading the book on the airplane and finished it in Accra, Ghana. The book was good in giving a greater insight into real Ghana, behind the walls and fences that is far from the tourist norms. Some of the book's content
I liked the part where hes hanging out with his teacher
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