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Second Round
The story, preceded by a poem on Freetown, is about a young physician, Dr Kawa, who settles down in Freetown at the morrow of independence after completing his studies in England. He falls in love with a young girl only to discover that she is unfaithful . He is seduced by his neighbour's wife. His passionate love affairs ends up in dismal failure. Dr Kawa's romantic life is plagued by disorder. In an attempt to escape from this situation he moves to the country side. Dr Kawa, someone who sees life to be simple, or too simple, sees himself involved in the complex problems of other people which will eventually affect his own.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1966
119 people want to read
About the author
Lenrie Peters
10 books3 followersDr Lenrie Peters graduated with a B Sc. from the TRINITY College of Cambridge in 1956. In 1959, he received a Medical and Surgery diploma from Cambridge. He holds a Master’s degree in Arts. He worked as journalist of African programs with the BBC from 1955 to 1968. He was the president of the Historic Commission of Monuments of the Gambia, President of FESTAC comity in 1977 and President of the board of directors of the National library of the Gambia and Gambia College from 1979 to 1987. From 1985 to 1991, he was a member and President of the West African Examination Council (WAEC). He was member of the jury for the Literary prize of the Commonwealth in 1995.
He passed away on 27 May 2009 in Dakar after a brief illness.
Dr Lenrie Peters' poems, Satellites, Katchikali and Selected Poems were published in the African Writers Series along with his only novel The Second Round.
He passed away on 27 May 2009 in Dakar after a brief illness.
Dr Lenrie Peters' poems, Satellites, Katchikali and Selected Poems were published in the African Writers Series along with his only novel The Second Round.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 9, 2015
A much better novel than some self-styled critics would admit. Lenrie Peters made his name as a polished, eclectic poet, and this his only novel intermittently bears witness to this. The focus is on a young idealistic doctor (Kawa) trying to orientate himself back into his (African) society. Despite the odd melodramatic moment weaved around some colorful characters (eg Freddie) that the protagonist gets acquainted with, this imaginative, resplendent work is one that would enrich and benefit the percipient reader.
October 3, 2016
Wonderful work with many inspiring allusions
February 20, 2026
This passage stuck out to me: “He became overwhelmingly convinced that the trouble with the society into which he was snuggling like a roosting hen, was its weightlessness. . . A people at the middle way; the turning point. . . Frightened as if they had suddenly found themselves on the moon. People were always frightened of pain, disease, love and death, but most frightened of emptiness, not knowing what they were about” (pg 16).
In another passage, while speaking to Dr Kawa, Jonah asks him whether or not he can hear anything from his stethoscope. The dr responds with this: “Not very much, but as the lawyer wears the wig, and the priest a collar, so the doctor must have a stethoscope. It’s a symbol. People believe in it; it gives them confidence” (pg 71). In the days or months preceding entry into the so called post-colonial, the symbols of “progress,” symbols of individual wealth and an imitation of Europe are in constant conflict with the traditional. With society as it is or was; society as it cannot continue to be.
In another passage, while speaking to Dr Kawa, Jonah asks him whether or not he can hear anything from his stethoscope. The dr responds with this: “Not very much, but as the lawyer wears the wig, and the priest a collar, so the doctor must have a stethoscope. It’s a symbol. People believe in it; it gives them confidence” (pg 71). In the days or months preceding entry into the so called post-colonial, the symbols of “progress,” symbols of individual wealth and an imitation of Europe are in constant conflict with the traditional. With society as it is or was; society as it cannot continue to be.
February 20, 2026
“‘The point is that it is unnatural for a man to be without a woman; and before you can be a leader of your people you must have a stable family life… It makes my blood boil to think of it. Trying to be like men!’ … Her anger was vented against the bosomless, unmenstruating women of Europe where sex was either absent or inter-substituted.”
This quote captures something central in The Second Round: anxiety about modernity, gender roles, Western influence, and what it means to be “civilized.” It sets up a conflict between tradition and Westernization that feels like it should drive the novel.
But I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this book.
I didn’t dislike it because of the writing, on the contrary, I actually thought the writing was good. The prose is descriptive and often thoughtful. What made it difficult for me was the pacing and structure. It felt like we were going nowhere for long stretches. We simply follow Dr. Kawa through his daily life, observing his routines, his social interactions, and occasionally his internal reflections.
The aspect that kept me reading was his internal conflict. Being raised in Sierra Leone and educated in England, he embodies the tension between two worlds. He has experienced Western education, Western rationalism, Western modernity, but he returns to an African society negotiating its postcolonial identity. The most compelling idea in the novel, for me, is the questions; what do you keep, and what do you discard? Do you accept tradition simply because it is tradition? Or do you selectively take from both cultures and construct something new?
Unfortunately, these reflections felt too sparse. When they appeared, they were interesting, but they were spread too thin to carry the emotional or philosophical weight they deserved. I often found myself waiting for the novel to lean further into that identity struggle.
The same goes for the historical context. The subtle backdrop of newly independent African leadership replacing colonial authority is present, and I appreciated it. But again, it’s lightly sketched. I found myself wanting more depth, more political atmosphere, more social commentary, more sense of what this transitional moment truly meant.
I also can’t help but question myself here. Maybe this is my own Western bias at play, wanting the culture to be explained to me rather than simply presented. In many Western novels, I accept the setting without demanding exposition. But here, I caught myself wanting more contextualisation, more direct engagement with cultural difference.
One thing I genuinely enjoyed was the linguistic texture. Although English is Sierra Leone’s official language, the dialogue carries rhythms and cadences that distinguish it from Western English. The written-out accents and speech patterns added a strong sense of place and perspective. That felt immersive rather than alienating.
Where I struggled more significantly was with certain plotlines involving women.
There’s the scene where a girl is raped, and Dr. Kawa finds her afterward, takes her home, gives her clothes, and then observes her sleeping and finds her beautiful in that moment of extreme vulnerability and also pursues her as a love interest. That unsettled me deeply. The aestheticizing of her trauma, even subtly, didn’t sit right.
Later, there’s the woman he’s interested in who is married and also has a lover. She only becomes a potential romantic possibility after her lover dies and her husband is institutionalised. Again, she is at her lowest, grieving, destabilized, and that’s when he attempts to pursue something more. She rejects him, which I appreciated. But the pattern remains, the only times he expresses romantic interest are when women are in crisis or reduced circumstances.
That left a bad taste in my mouth. Especially because he’s portrayed as a desirable, educated man who seemingly could pursue relationships under healthier circumstances but chooses not to. The pattern feels intentional, though I’m not entirely sure what Peters wanted to say with it. Emotional opportunism? Male detachment? Moral ambiguity? If it’s meant to critique Dr. Kawa, the novel doesn’t quite go far enough to make that clear.
There’s also the strange moment of a brother declaring romantic love for his sister, an incestuous suggestion that appears abruptly and then disappears. It feels almost like a narrative jolt inserted for shock value rather than something organically integrated into the story.
And then there’s the ending. It didn’t feel earned. The novel doesn’t seem to be building toward that conclusion in a clear structural way. Instead, it reads like a largely observational narrative of a man whose life resembles the author’s, with sporadic moments of heightened drama sprinkled in.
Overall, I wouldn’t call it a terrible read. It was interesting, especially because it isn’t a Western novel and offers a perspective I don’t often encounter. The self-reflective passages were compelling. The writing itself was strong, lyrical and descriptive.
But perhaps that’s also part of my critique, there is a lot of describing and not a lot of doing. The narrative energy remains low for much of the book, and when “exciting” moments do occur, they either feel disconnected or morally uncomfortable rather than narratively satisfying.
In the end, I think my frustration comes from potential. The themes, postcolonial identity, cultural hybridity, masculinity, modernity, are rich and powerful. I just wish the novel had leaned into them more consistently. As it stands, I admired parts of it, but I never felt fully engaged.
This quote captures something central in The Second Round: anxiety about modernity, gender roles, Western influence, and what it means to be “civilized.” It sets up a conflict between tradition and Westernization that feels like it should drive the novel.
But I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this book.
I didn’t dislike it because of the writing, on the contrary, I actually thought the writing was good. The prose is descriptive and often thoughtful. What made it difficult for me was the pacing and structure. It felt like we were going nowhere for long stretches. We simply follow Dr. Kawa through his daily life, observing his routines, his social interactions, and occasionally his internal reflections.
The aspect that kept me reading was his internal conflict. Being raised in Sierra Leone and educated in England, he embodies the tension between two worlds. He has experienced Western education, Western rationalism, Western modernity, but he returns to an African society negotiating its postcolonial identity. The most compelling idea in the novel, for me, is the questions; what do you keep, and what do you discard? Do you accept tradition simply because it is tradition? Or do you selectively take from both cultures and construct something new?
Unfortunately, these reflections felt too sparse. When they appeared, they were interesting, but they were spread too thin to carry the emotional or philosophical weight they deserved. I often found myself waiting for the novel to lean further into that identity struggle.
The same goes for the historical context. The subtle backdrop of newly independent African leadership replacing colonial authority is present, and I appreciated it. But again, it’s lightly sketched. I found myself wanting more depth, more political atmosphere, more social commentary, more sense of what this transitional moment truly meant.
I also can’t help but question myself here. Maybe this is my own Western bias at play, wanting the culture to be explained to me rather than simply presented. In many Western novels, I accept the setting without demanding exposition. But here, I caught myself wanting more contextualisation, more direct engagement with cultural difference.
One thing I genuinely enjoyed was the linguistic texture. Although English is Sierra Leone’s official language, the dialogue carries rhythms and cadences that distinguish it from Western English. The written-out accents and speech patterns added a strong sense of place and perspective. That felt immersive rather than alienating.
Where I struggled more significantly was with certain plotlines involving women.
There’s the scene where a girl is raped, and Dr. Kawa finds her afterward, takes her home, gives her clothes, and then observes her sleeping and finds her beautiful in that moment of extreme vulnerability and also pursues her as a love interest. That unsettled me deeply. The aestheticizing of her trauma, even subtly, didn’t sit right.
Later, there’s the woman he’s interested in who is married and also has a lover. She only becomes a potential romantic possibility after her lover dies and her husband is institutionalised. Again, she is at her lowest, grieving, destabilized, and that’s when he attempts to pursue something more. She rejects him, which I appreciated. But the pattern remains, the only times he expresses romantic interest are when women are in crisis or reduced circumstances.
That left a bad taste in my mouth. Especially because he’s portrayed as a desirable, educated man who seemingly could pursue relationships under healthier circumstances but chooses not to. The pattern feels intentional, though I’m not entirely sure what Peters wanted to say with it. Emotional opportunism? Male detachment? Moral ambiguity? If it’s meant to critique Dr. Kawa, the novel doesn’t quite go far enough to make that clear.
There’s also the strange moment of a brother declaring romantic love for his sister, an incestuous suggestion that appears abruptly and then disappears. It feels almost like a narrative jolt inserted for shock value rather than something organically integrated into the story.
And then there’s the ending. It didn’t feel earned. The novel doesn’t seem to be building toward that conclusion in a clear structural way. Instead, it reads like a largely observational narrative of a man whose life resembles the author’s, with sporadic moments of heightened drama sprinkled in.
Overall, I wouldn’t call it a terrible read. It was interesting, especially because it isn’t a Western novel and offers a perspective I don’t often encounter. The self-reflective passages were compelling. The writing itself was strong, lyrical and descriptive.
But perhaps that’s also part of my critique, there is a lot of describing and not a lot of doing. The narrative energy remains low for much of the book, and when “exciting” moments do occur, they either feel disconnected or morally uncomfortable rather than narratively satisfying.
In the end, I think my frustration comes from potential. The themes, postcolonial identity, cultural hybridity, masculinity, modernity, are rich and powerful. I just wish the novel had leaned into them more consistently. As it stands, I admired parts of it, but I never felt fully engaged.
October 28, 2018
Gambian author Peters masterfully surprises with turns and twists in an otherwise straight-forward melodrama of a young doctor's return to his home town.
Dr. Kawa is an expertly drawn protagonist. He is sympathetic in his bad decisions and his lack of appropriate love choices. Kawa gets embroiled with his next door neighbors, which ends in unexpected and somewhat convenient tragedy.
Peters' is prose stylist who turns his phrase to create in a single sentence a chapter's worth of information. It was highly enjoyable to read - even when Peters is describing a simple act as sitting on a couch, he impressively creates mood and character.
Dr. Kawa is an expertly drawn protagonist. He is sympathetic in his bad decisions and his lack of appropriate love choices. Kawa gets embroiled with his next door neighbors, which ends in unexpected and somewhat convenient tragedy.
Peters' is prose stylist who turns his phrase to create in a single sentence a chapter's worth of information. It was highly enjoyable to read - even when Peters is describing a simple act as sitting on a couch, he impressively creates mood and character.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews