The African

by William Conton

Nagy-Britannia Songhai nevű gyarmatát hiába keressük Nyugat-Afrikában: William Conton képzelt országba helyezi regényének színhelyét. Lokko, Kisimi Kamara szülőfaluja sem található Afrika térképén. De a poros házak, és a körülöttük szakadatlanul dolgozó férfiak, és nők, és az anyák, akiknek biztonságot nyújtó, verejtékes hátán a csecsemőt a rizscséplés ritmikus hangjai és mozdulatai ringatják álomba – ezek a mai Afrika valóságos képei. Aminthogy Kisimi Kamara életének sok szomorú-vidám érdekes és izgalmas eseménye is megtörténhetett volna bárhol az ébredő Afrikában. Új hang, új szemlélet jelentkezik William Conton regényében: az afrikai ember vall magáról, életéről, szerelméről egy fehér lány iránt, és a gyűlöletről, amelyet a gyilkos fehér férfival szemben érez…

Genres: Africa, Sierra Leone, Fiction

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 1961

About the author

William Farquhar Conton (1925, Gambia - July, 2003) was a Sierra Leonean educator, historian and novelist
William Farquhar Conton was born to the union of Cecil Conton (1885-1926) and Olive Conton (née Farquhar) in the Gambia. The Contons and Farquhars were Sierra Leone Creole people of Caribbean origin who settled in Sierra Leone during the late nineteenth century. Cecil Barger Conton had been born in Bermuda to William A. Conton (b. 1837) and Elizabeth Conton (b. 1857). Olive Farquhar was the daughter of Archdeacon Charles William Farquhar of Antigua.
Conton was educated at Durham University in England. After graduating he taught at Fourah Bay College before becoming principal of Accra High School in Ghana. Returning to Sierra Leone, he was principal of two high schools before rising to be chief education officer in Sierra Leone.[2] He subsequently worked for UNESCO.[1]

Conton's novel The African was one of the first novels to be published in Heinemann's African Writers Series. It treated an England romance between a black African student and a white South African woman, turning autobiographical elements into a call for Africa to move as a continent beyond apartheid. Wole Soyinka criticised its utopian "love optimism", calling the novel's main character, Kamara, an "unbelievable prig"

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s many countries in Africa sought and won their independence from countries like England, Germany, Italy, and France. Many of the new African leaders were young men who had studied in those European countries and had returned to lead their country to independence. The transitions were not always easy. In South Africa, for example, the white minority was entrenched and reluctant to share power and had put in all sorts of laws to suppress the blacks majority.

The African written at the time that many countries in Africa were in the process of gaining their independence is a powerful novel that follows one young man named Kamara, who is given the opportunity to leave his village to study in Sagresa, the capital of Songhai. After passing his exams, he is sent from Sagresa to England to further his education. His family and the entire village are depending on him to succeed. After graduation, he is expected to return to his village and make a contribution. He travels to England, along with Samuel, who becomes his closest friend. Both are under the same obligation to their people. Kamara is fascinated with the English language and during spring break travels to other parts of the country, becomes involved with a young British lady and her brother, and almost loses his life.

The novel goes on to chronicle Kamara’s life after his return home to the British colony and his growth from an innocent boy to a man capable to leading his country to independence. Told from first person point-of-view, the African presents the reader with insight into the problems confronting a country transitioning from dependence to independence and the reluctance of the colonial administration to give up power. At times the tone is formal and objective making it difficult for the reader to embrace the character and empathize with his situation. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to those interested in Africa at the time of its struggles from the perspective of an African.

[Kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

musty and old but a good snapshot of the time in Africa