The Minister Primarily: Long-Lost Political Satire – Literary Fiction from Postcolonial Africa

by John Oliver Killens, Ishmael Reed (Introduction)

A major literary event—the eagerly anticipated publication of a long-lost novel from legendary writer and three-time Pulitzer Prize nominee John Oliver Killens, hailed as the founding father of the Black Arts Movement and mentor to celebrated writers, including Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni, Arthur Flowers, and Terry McMillan. Wanderlust has taken Jimmy Jay Leander Johnson on numerous adventures, from Mississippi to Washington D.C., Vietnam, London and eventually to Africa, to the fictitious Independent People’s Democratic Republic of Guanaya, where the young musician hopes to “find himself.” But this small sliver of a country in West Africa, recently freed from British colonial rule, is thrown into turmoil with the discovery of cobanium—a radioactive mineral 500 times more powerful than uranium, making it irresistible for greedy speculators, grifters, and charlatans. Overnight, outsiders descend upon the sleepy capital city looking for “a piece of the action.” When a plot to assassinate Guanaya’s leader is discovered, Jimmy Jay—a dead ringer for the Prime Minister—is enlisted in a counter scheme to foil the would-be coup. He will travel to America with half of Guanaya’s cabinet ministers to meet with the President of the United States and address the UN General Assembly, while the rest of the cabinet will remain in Guanaya with the real Prime Minister. What could go wrong?  Everything. Set in the 1980s, this smart, funny, dazzlingly brilliant novel is a literary delight—and the final gift from an American literary legend.

Genres: Fiction, Novels, Audiobook, Literature

496 pages, Paperback

First published July 27, 2021

Reviews

[Andre(Read-A-Lot)]

Satire at its finest. Killens is brilliantly crazy. Updated 5/9/21. If you like satire (I do) this novel will fill you with laughter. In this improbable setup, the fictional African country of Guayana has discovered an abundance of Cobanium, making Guayana a highly sought after partner in world affairs. You can guess which country is leading the race to exploit Guayana, and so with that as the backdrop all sorts of send-ups are possible.

Now, throw in the Minister of Guayana is presumed to be targeted for assassination, just as he is scheduled to make a state visit to America. Can’t miss this opportunity, right? So, a doppelgänger is employed to impersonate the Prime Minister to hilarious effect. He was kind of backed into this mission but fully embraced it at times.

With the doppelgänger being an American born, southern raised Black man, Killens has the canvas to skewer American politics and hypocrisy concerning their darker brethren. And skewer he does, the fire touches all, Black nationalists, Integrationists, Segregationists, the incoming is uproarious and the machinations to maintain the deception is a testament to the writing genius of John Oliver Killens..

I am aware that the word genius is overly used in literary circles, however you can’t read this and come to any other conclusion. So big kudos to Amistad press for bringing this novel to light, a major and worthy publishing decision. Read this!

[Rebecca Hartley]

Too many tangents and felt like one long run on sentence with not much happening.

[Marvin]

Good but to many tangents.

[Mimigle]

Weird but hilarious. Head scratching and fun to read.

[Maggie Rotter]

Here is the description of The Minister Primarily from the publisher. Makes you think of Black Panther? Other recent novels telling awful often true stories about appropriation of natural assets? Yet this blackly humorous novel was written in the sixties and will be posthumously published this summer. It's a fresh darkly homorous read with the benefit of that time travel feeling due to it's age.
"Wanderlust has taken Jimmy Jay Leander Johnson on numerous adventures, from Mississippi to Washington D.C., Vietnam, London and eventually to Africa, to the fictitious Independent People’s Democratic Republic of Guayana, where the young musician hopes to “find himself.”

But this small sliver of a country in West Africa, recently freed from British colonial rule, is thrown into turmoil with the discovery of cobanium—a radioactive mineral 500 times more powerful than uranium, making it irresistible for greedy speculators, grifters, and charlatans. Overnight, outsiders descend upon the sleepy capital city looking for “a piece of the action.”

When a plot to assassinate Guanaya’s leader is discovered, Jimmy Jay—a dead ringer for the Prime Minister—is enlisted in a counter scheme to foil the would-be coup. He will travel to America with half of Guanaya’s cabinet ministers to meet with President Ronald Reagan and address the UN General Assembly, while the rest of the cabinet will remain in Guanaya with the real Prime Minister.

What could go wrong?"

[Phyllis | Mocha Drop]

While others have marveled at the comedic genius employed in this novel, I noted the effort, but it just wasn’t my cup of “literary” tea. I found this to be a tedious read and was not really engaged or intrigued with the plot or characters -- admittedly, it was a struggle and I found myself glossing over sections just to get through it. I wanted to really enjoy this, but unfortunately, it was a miss for me.

[Joni Newman]

At times an absolutely jaw dropping satire, at times quite rambly and tricky to follow—but that’s the nature of how this book came into being. It’s very worth discussing, and I was particularly taken by how much of the book is still relevant to current conversations. . .Though, in retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have been.

[Brianna]

How tongue in cheek and thoroughly entertaining this read was. The premise couldn't have prepared me for the journey this was to take me on. Not for everyone, but definitely worth picking up and giving it a try.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Kea4]

An ok idea but I just could not get into this story. Way too much happening and nothing to hold my attention.

https://theworldisabookandiamitsreade...

[Mimi]

What a fun romp! A very satirical witty novel about an Afro American man acting as a double for an African prime minister visiting the US, full of racial comedies. 4.5

[Colleen Parker]

Liked it at first but couldn't finish.

[Gilly]

Not a bad book, just really outdated.

[Ian]

An abundance of a rare chemical element is discovered under a small African country, one which just recently celebrated a long-overdue independence from the UK’s flagrant flag-waverie. Mustachio-twirling Cold War players gather in America to discuss their cut of the nuclear pie, but, due to coup rumors, the Prime Minister stays behind, sending in his stead an uncanny-in-a-fake-beard proxy, hush-hush like: a singer/songwriter Mississippi (or ‘Sippi) native, with both a careless Casanova’s and diplomat’s way with words. Like, he’s undercover and under covers when he’s not. Yes yes, it’s an 80s comedy movie scenario a la Trading Places and Coming to America, but written with a passionate wordsmith’s satirical penchant for emotional panache (or a vice for verse versa). Dealing often with racial and political issues by an author himself dealt his fair share of racial and political hardships (and written near the end of his impressively involved life), the comedy is laid on just as heavy as the heavy is laid out comedically.

[Patricia]

A romp of a book with a clear point to make.