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"In exile for more than twenty years, Ngugi wa Thiong'o has become one of the most widely read African writers of our time, the power and scope of his work garnering him international attention and praise. His aim in Wizard of the Crow is, in his own words, nothing less than 'to sum up Africa of the twentieth century in the context of 2,000 years of world history.' ommencing in' our times' and set in the 'Free Republic of Aburiria', the novel dramatises with corrosive humour and keenness of observation a battle for control of the souls of the Aburirian people. Fashioning the stories of the powerful and the ordinary into a dazzling mosaic, Ngugi reveals humanity in all its ceaselessly surprising complexity. nformed by richly enigmatic traditional African storytelling, Wizard of the Crow is a masterpiece, the crowning achievement in Ngugi wa Thiong'o's career thus far."… (more)
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Aligned against the Ruler and his parasites is job-seeking Kamiti, who can physically smell corruption (which often torments him in this endlessly corrupt country), and lovely Nyawira, a rebel group's leader who smells like flowers to Kamiti. Kamiti has herbal healing skills, and through various humorous twists becomes recognized as the miracle-working "Wizard of the Crow", whose assistance is sought by sycophants and rebels alike. His clever, intuitive solutions, with the assistance of a mirror, to the problems brought to him, comprise many of the highlights of the book.
The satirical dissection of post-colonial Africa is merciless. One sycophant, for example, is suffering so from "white-ache", the desire to be a British white man, that he can no longer say anything more than "If". His cure from the Wizard of the Crow may lie in finding out what it's like to be a member of a former power outstripped by history. Can Kamiti and Nyawira lead the rebels to toppling the absurd, corrupt regime of the Ruler, even while darting into the heart of it, and colliding with that regime in various dangerous roles? Can Kamiti turn his perceived wizarding skills to the rebellion's advantage? Can Kamiti and Nyawira find a sustainable life together in this crazy country?
I've mentioned before that the book made me think of a diverse group of works - [Tom Jones], as a rambling adventure story without the bawdiness, [Catch-22] in its satire of war and government, [Dr. Strangelove] for the same. It apparently was first serialized, so it has that episodic story quality of various [Dickens] novels, too. The New York Times reviewer said "it recalls a long yarn told by firelight." It was written in a Kenyan language that derives from an oral tradition, and then translated by the author. This all makes for a different kind of read than I previously have encountered, one that made me laugh and cheer on the exploits of Kamiti and Nyawira. At the same time, the novel casts a fierce satirical eye on a horribly corrupt government. I understand that this despotic rule, while taken to absurd lengths, unfortunately has strong roots in reality
It’s a very hard book to summarize. First, it is extremely long and dense. It delves into folklore, satire, allegory, fantasy, and comedy. Among the very sharp witted political observations, one explores the psyche and relationship of Kamiti and Nyawira, two delightfully independent people. (I find often when there is a romance in a novel, the main characters become semi-monolithic.)
This was a delightful read – fast-paced, poignant, humorous, and hopeful. Highly recommend.
His latest book is Wizard of the Crow and I literally don't have the skills to convey how great it is. It's been awhile since he published a novel. His last novel before this was Matigari, which he wrote in 1983-84, first in Gikuyu and then translated it himself into English (as he'd done with Devil on the Cross). Over twenty years, then, since he finished his last novel. As it's published, it's 766 pages long, his longest work. And, I have to say, it is his best. It is the kind of story that cannot be written quickly, it's scope encompassing much more than most novels do. This was a book that demanded incubation.
Wizard of the Crow isn't so much an African novel as it is a novel that explores Africa in a global context. It focuses on a fictitious country called Aburiria, which is controlled by a dictator called The Ruler. He's completely bonkers, and it isn't hard for me to see Idi Amin in this leader--the Ngatho - Acknowledgments at the end also point back to the Moi dictatorship of Kenya. But he, and his cabinet (with men who've undergone impossible plastic surgeries in Europe to have lightbulb-sized eyes and forearm-length ears--so as to be the eyes and ears of the country), aren't the only villains in this book. There's also the greedy businessmen and the Global Bank, who come to consider giving The Ruler money to build his very own tower of Babel so that he can speak to God every morning. On top of that, the country's money is cursed, giving off an overpowering stench to those people sensitive enough to such things as corruption, greed, and evil.
There are good guys, too, though. Of course there are. Ngugi isn't one of those writers who turns his back on hope. Kamiti is a young man, educated postgrad in India, who has been homeless and unemployed for several years after graduating--no one in Aburiria will hire him. He falls into his role as the Wizard of the Crow after pulling a prank to get a cop off his tail. He doesn't believe the mumbo jumbo he speaks, but everyone around hears of his powers and believes he's a healer and incredible sorcerer. Nyawira is a young woman he meets and the two of them develop an intense bond. She's tough, secretly being one of the top members of an underground movement that is against The Ruler and his barbaric administration. She also, interestingly, comes to wear the mantle of the Wizard of the Crow.
Ngugi's satirical edge is sharper than it's ever been, and he really cuts open the lies and shams of the world to get down to what's really moral and good in human beings. I can't recommend this novel enough. If you're already into novels by African writers, you'll love this and might be amazed, as I have been, at how he ties the African experience together within the bigger picture. And if you haven't read any novels by Africans before, well, this is the one to read. It's got it all.
The wizard himself apart, the characters came across as one-dimensional and seemed in many cases to be present as mouthpieces or props to move the story along.
There are some interesting passages but the central ideas are repeated ad nauseam, that
an unrewarding read (for me).
If he knew who the Wizard actually was, though, the idea of a threat would be either laughable or even more alarming than he thinks. Nyawira and Kamiti are two struggling young people, with wits but not means to access the country’s vicious economic power struggles. So their disdain for the power-hungry officials ends up being more powerful in its own right, as they sow the seeds of self-doubt and insecurity among the high and mighty. Nyawira’s and Kamiti’s awareness that they have little to lose, relative to these authority figures, paradoxically empowers them.
When one official visits the Wizard, he compliments Kamiti: “When I heard of the Wizard of the Crow, I thought of an old man, of seventy years or more, supporting himself with a walking stick. And now, behold! A young man in a designer suit. A modern sorcerer, eh? Or is it postmodern?”
“Postcolonial,” the Wizard of the Crow added.
And so it is. The Wizard’s rebellion against the ruler and government, out of touch with their people, is postcolonial in the empowerment and autonomy it allows for the people rather than the institution. The Wizard of the Crow does not just speak to the colonial experience of many African nations; it speaks to the experience of every oppressed group which finds and raises an alternative voice, subversively either matching or mocking the tone of those in power.