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Beyond the Horizon
A first novel by a Ghanaian woman who spent some time in Germany. It provides an account of the exploitation of women in Africa and Europe, and tells of an immigrant who, having travelled to Germany to find a paradise, finds she has been betrayed by her husband and is forced into prostitution.
140 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
58 people are currently reading
838 people want to read
About the author
Amma Darko
16 books86 followersAmma Darko (born 1956) is an African novelist.
She was born in Koforidua, Ghana, and grew up in Accra. She studied in Kumasi, where she received her diploma in 1980. Then she worked for the Science and Technology Center in Kumasi. During the eighties, she lived and worked for some time in Germany. She has since returned to Accra.
(from Wikipedia)
She was born in Koforidua, Ghana, and grew up in Accra. She studied in Kumasi, where she received her diploma in 1980. Then she worked for the Science and Technology Center in Kumasi. During the eighties, she lived and worked for some time in Germany. She has since returned to Accra.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
August 2, 2017
!!! http://africanbookaddict.com/2015/04/...
Ohhh what a tragic book this is! Amma Darko does NOT get enough shine for this novel and her writing in general. This book is heart-wrenching.
I'm glad I read this though. Mara frustrated me deeply for 3/4th of the book. She had no sense of her worth and her fate was determined by her husband, Akobi who did not love her. Akobi is a dog, coward and a self-absorbed man who basically used Mara for everything that she was. I waited so long for Mara to retaliate, but she kept on enduring his bullshit till almost the end of the novel.
Amma Darko tackles a lot of themes in this book: racism, colorism, domestic violence, pornography, abuse, prostitution, the myths of living abroad ('Europe is heaven'), immigration, feminism, womanhood, sisterhood, women's dependency on men, village life vrs city life, modernity, the value of education etc. This book was written very well and pulls at your emotions, while exposing you to the horrible reality of some women in this world - thats why I gave this 4 stars. Other than that, it wasn't very enjoyable for me to read in the beginning, as descriptions of abuse were quite harsh. This book isn't for everyone. But its a relevant story that everyone should read, even if reluctantly.
Some important quotes and an in-depth review will be on the blog! http://africanbookaddict.wordpress.com/
Ohhh what a tragic book this is! Amma Darko does NOT get enough shine for this novel and her writing in general. This book is heart-wrenching.
I'm glad I read this though. Mara frustrated me deeply for 3/4th of the book. She had no sense of her worth and her fate was determined by her husband, Akobi who did not love her. Akobi is a dog, coward and a self-absorbed man who basically used Mara for everything that she was. I waited so long for Mara to retaliate, but she kept on enduring his bullshit till almost the end of the novel.
Amma Darko tackles a lot of themes in this book: racism, colorism, domestic violence, pornography, abuse, prostitution, the myths of living abroad ('Europe is heaven'), immigration, feminism, womanhood, sisterhood, women's dependency on men, village life vrs city life, modernity, the value of education etc. This book was written very well and pulls at your emotions, while exposing you to the horrible reality of some women in this world - thats why I gave this 4 stars. Other than that, it wasn't very enjoyable for me to read in the beginning, as descriptions of abuse were quite harsh. This book isn't for everyone. But its a relevant story that everyone should read, even if reluctantly.
Some important quotes and an in-depth review will be on the blog! http://africanbookaddict.wordpress.com/
September 22, 2014
I loved this short but intriguing novel by Amma Darko.It tells the story of Mara, who is forced into marriage with the senseless Akobi who manages to send Mara to Germany where he forces her into prostitution and keeps all the money.This story story showcases what women in some circles go through as a result of culture, lack of education and society that puts them in a box
November 23, 2018
Brutally honest and Mara was such an interesting character. Her vulnerability was heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time
January 30, 2016
This book is brutally honest. A very downright portrayal of sex trafficking, and the sex industry in Europe.
I had a hard time understanding the lead character "Mara". I could not comprehend her actions, her feelings, the absolute surrender and submission to her atrocious husband throughout the novel. Even at the end of the novel, when she finally claims her agency and leaves her husband and cause his imprisonment. She still surrenders to being used in the sex industry...She believes she does not have another choice, that she has just got way deep into the gutter, that there's no hope of salvaging any part of her humanity. Being a strong believer in second chances, I could not tolerate the way she surrendered to what she 'thinks' is her irrevocable fate. Fate is never fixed or unchangeable. No matter what happens, we still get to decide...But again books like this really make us realize or question how much free we really are in making our choices and decisions. I always like those kind of books, those which complicate our realities and change they way we think...Definitely recommended for anyone who would like to know more about the vile dynamics of patriarchy within the sex industry with women as its ultimate victims..
I had a hard time understanding the lead character "Mara". I could not comprehend her actions, her feelings, the absolute surrender and submission to her atrocious husband throughout the novel. Even at the end of the novel, when she finally claims her agency and leaves her husband and cause his imprisonment. She still surrenders to being used in the sex industry...She believes she does not have another choice, that she has just got way deep into the gutter, that there's no hope of salvaging any part of her humanity. Being a strong believer in second chances, I could not tolerate the way she surrendered to what she 'thinks' is her irrevocable fate. Fate is never fixed or unchangeable. No matter what happens, we still get to decide...But again books like this really make us realize or question how much free we really are in making our choices and decisions. I always like those kind of books, those which complicate our realities and change they way we think...Definitely recommended for anyone who would like to know more about the vile dynamics of patriarchy within the sex industry with women as its ultimate victims..
May 9, 2022
Todas las lecturas de esta asignatura fueron muy duras porque eran sobre arranged marriages de mujeres africanas etc, pero este al ser una novela fue mucho más explícito e indagó en otras situaciones que siguen sufriendo muchas mujeres en el mundo y es horroroso.
Me gustó mucho como las historias de Mara, Vivian y Kaye son parecidas pero diferentes a la vez, porque te das cuenta que no solo sus maridos las engañan, si no que cualquier hombre de la familia o que conozcas te puede meter en el tráfico de personas para su propio beneficio (obviamente). Bueno, y todas y cada una de las mujeres nombradas en esta novela son víctimas de dichos hombres es que da igual que sean familiares, amantes o sus mujeres (incluso las blancas, de alguna forma, aunque en este libro no está relacionado con la trata de ellas, pero es otro tipo de abuso el que se ve en la novela).
Anyways... Otro día más odiando a los hombres, pero nada sorprendida.
Me gustó mucho como las historias de Mara, Vivian y Kaye son parecidas pero diferentes a la vez, porque te das cuenta que no solo sus maridos las engañan, si no que cualquier hombre de la familia o que conozcas te puede meter en el tráfico de personas para su propio beneficio (obviamente). Bueno, y todas y cada una de las mujeres nombradas en esta novela son víctimas de dichos hombres es que da igual que sean familiares, amantes o sus mujeres (incluso las blancas, de alguna forma, aunque en este libro no está relacionado con la trata de ellas, pero es otro tipo de abuso el que se ve en la novela).
Anyways... Otro día más odiando a los hombres, pero nada sorprendida.
July 27, 2007
This book is too short! It is a beautiful written account of a woman from Ghana and the shocking struggles she faces when she moves to the UK. A great author that most have never heard of. The African Writers Series is pretty amazing in general- all the books I have gotten my hands on have been completely captivating.
December 16, 2008
Of all the novels from the African Writer Series that I have read for my black studies course at UCSB, this was the best. This powerful story about shame, secrecy, abuse, trust, vulnerability and cultural naivete reveals much about the world about which that you probably never knew. A very worthwhile read!
May 23, 2015
Amma Darko's masterpiece. This short and gripping tale explores themes of patriarchy but differs from the works of most feminist African writers by showing a character who braves patriarchy but is ultimately defeated by the deceit of a man who does not love her.
April 21, 2009
heart wrenching.
October 26, 2012
Great book, an universal human condition, immigration, womanhood, loss of innocence ... highly recommended
November 11, 2014
It was an eye opener about the struggles of women in foreign countries. It showed that anyone can be a victim of human trafficking.
May 16, 2019
I am finding it hard to read the book on Goodreads Please can someone help me out here.
April 27, 2018
A caustic examination of patriarchal gender roles, abusive relationships, European racist immigration policies, and internalized misogyny. The main character, surviving abuse from her spouse, both gains self-confidence as she realizes she can do things on her own, and lapses into dependence on her spouse as old psychological patterns return. Women help and abuse each other in turn; sisterhood is transient and fleeting. A white woman lied to and exploited by Akobi nonetheless feel more secure in their relationship when Akobi is abusing Mara. The only escape from abusive husband-pimps are other pimps.
The book also critiques the depraved ambitions of individuals in a racist, capitalist structure. Akobi, entitled from his upbringing, lusts to be the big man, owning Western gadgets, fetishizing them, and wanting a light-skinned African trophy wife. He owns no property, and cannot achieve his dreams by solely commodifying himself. So he commodifies what he views as his property, his wife. She ultimately escapes only by commodifying herself further in order to reap some of the gains of her own commodification, at the expense of self alienation and physical and mental harm.
The book also critiques the depraved ambitions of individuals in a racist, capitalist structure. Akobi, entitled from his upbringing, lusts to be the big man, owning Western gadgets, fetishizing them, and wanting a light-skinned African trophy wife. He owns no property, and cannot achieve his dreams by solely commodifying himself. So he commodifies what he views as his property, his wife. She ultimately escapes only by commodifying herself further in order to reap some of the gains of her own commodification, at the expense of self alienation and physical and mental harm.
February 17, 2015
This is a book I read due to a recommendation. I wanted to read a book with moving accounts of prostitution. This book has that, and more. As a story of prostitution and wife abuse, one is drawn to feel sympathy for the narrator. However, I some point in reading, I couldn't help being shocked at the narrator's gullibility and naivete. This is one of those texts where being from a rural location is meant to be an excuse for failing to read human nature. It seems to suggest that the rural location (Naka, in the novel) is populated mainly by good people. The urban, on the other hand, is where corrupt people like Akobi reside. The metropole is where the greatest evils (in the form of prostitution, drugs and porn, are.
I fault the novel on these lines, and I think the naivete of the narrator removes some of the sympathy I would have felt for her otherwise. She is quick to believe and forgive her husband, even after multiple rounds of beatings and being lied to.
I fault the novel on these lines, and I think the naivete of the narrator removes some of the sympathy I would have felt for her otherwise. She is quick to believe and forgive her husband, even after multiple rounds of beatings and being lied to.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 16, 2014
This book was a good read, sad story with an anticlimactic ending in my opinion. I did enjoy the voice of Mara throughout the book and sad at the way it ended. The build up to the ending was great but the ending itself was lacking somewhat. I would recommend it, it kept me interested and wanting to continue reading from the first page.
August 1, 2008
By far the most haunting and influential book I have ever read.
August 27, 2013
Heartbreaking story.
May 10, 2016
GHANA/GERMANY
December 4, 2016
gripping
September 10, 2017
Two words:Amazingly tragic.
June 18, 2025
//4.5 stars//
Darko writes such real characters and tells their stories in a way that makes you root for them like they are your friend. Just like The Housemaid, I loved this, found myself wondering what intrigue awaits Mara around the corner and laughed aloud a few times while reading this. A good book! Mara travels to Europe hoping to impress her husband, but he expects her to sacrifice herself for his dreams.
This book is quietly funny, deeply sad and yet has such elements of strength and female friendship while exploring the push and pull between Germany (Europe) and Ghana very well and how Ghanaians idealise Germany while Germany exotifies Ghana with both images ultimately being false. Through Mara’s character we also confronted with cultural difference in how marriage, love and respect are perceived and expected and ultimately how one man fails at everything because he is weak and stupid. I liked the female solidarity which this book had as a through line, with the women learning their power even within the patriarchy and the way that revenge on men does not coming at a cost to other women.
The ending feels broken yet victorious for Mara. This book is truly sad, the reader feels such grief at what Mara has had to endure and how she makes the best of it and takes what power she can.
“And when I've got my crying to do I sit here alone before my large oval mirror and stare painfully at this bit of garbage that once used to be me and I cry.”
“Maybe the gods were not too pleased about the hens and goats, I don't know. Or maybe they were angry that the villagers brought local gin instead of the better-quality London Dry Gin which the medicine man (who drinks it on the gods' behalf) claims the gods prefer, I can't say.”
“Many times in my daydreams I vividly imagined what it would look like, this my sewing home in prospect, and how I would call it Mara's Modern Sewing Corner, or Mara's Psychedelic Sewing Home, for psychedelic was one of the new hip words around, and these were part of the ever-popular city life. New words come and go, and people coin different meanings for them in addition to what the dictionary says. they mean, just so that they can be used more often.”
“Your wife Mara of the City.
I always felt that it was extremely important that I added the 'of the city', just in case some friend of his should read it and think I was still a village woman.”
“And why do we have to live here? Not because we want to, Mara. You yourself will find out soon. But because many of us have sold our properties and inheritance and taken money from every member of our family just to come here to work in the factories we heard at home were in abundance and needing workers. You have to come here to know that it is not true. But we have already taken all this plenty money from back home. So how do we return home with empty hands? We must find the money somehow, fair or foul. And anyway, who will believe you at home if you return and tell them that there is no work, and that German people too are themselves without jobs?
You will be accused of being a born failure, or they will say that you offended the gods and the ancestors, and that you are trying to justify your shame by dissuading other people from going to Europe to try their luck. Do you understand me now?'”
“I tried to sleep but couldn't. She too obstinately refused to start any talk again. But our conversation was ripping my thoughts apart and I was craving to talk.”
“Seeing that his labour had all been for nothing, he was very sour, because Akobi does nothing for nothing, or at least, hates doing something for nothing.”
“'And now let the spirits of our family rest a while' he went on to Gitte. 'You have called up their names so much that they must be turning in their sleep if they are in bed or clutching their stomachs in pain if they are having a meal.'
Later I learned that this was a strategy of Akob's. When the going got tough he would conjure up extravagant superstitions. Gitte, who, like most Europeans, believed That all Africans were full of primitive superstitions, always fell for it.
As Osey would say, they have their own images of us: very rude, very rough, very low. We don't fight with them about these. We use them to our advantage.”
Darko writes such real characters and tells their stories in a way that makes you root for them like they are your friend. Just like The Housemaid, I loved this, found myself wondering what intrigue awaits Mara around the corner and laughed aloud a few times while reading this. A good book! Mara travels to Europe hoping to impress her husband, but he expects her to sacrifice herself for his dreams.
This book is quietly funny, deeply sad and yet has such elements of strength and female friendship while exploring the push and pull between Germany (Europe) and Ghana very well and how Ghanaians idealise Germany while Germany exotifies Ghana with both images ultimately being false. Through Mara’s character we also confronted with cultural difference in how marriage, love and respect are perceived and expected and ultimately how one man fails at everything because he is weak and stupid. I liked the female solidarity which this book had as a through line, with the women learning their power even within the patriarchy and the way that revenge on men does not coming at a cost to other women.
The ending feels broken yet victorious for Mara. This book is truly sad, the reader feels such grief at what Mara has had to endure and how she makes the best of it and takes what power she can.
“And when I've got my crying to do I sit here alone before my large oval mirror and stare painfully at this bit of garbage that once used to be me and I cry.”
“Maybe the gods were not too pleased about the hens and goats, I don't know. Or maybe they were angry that the villagers brought local gin instead of the better-quality London Dry Gin which the medicine man (who drinks it on the gods' behalf) claims the gods prefer, I can't say.”
“Many times in my daydreams I vividly imagined what it would look like, this my sewing home in prospect, and how I would call it Mara's Modern Sewing Corner, or Mara's Psychedelic Sewing Home, for psychedelic was one of the new hip words around, and these were part of the ever-popular city life. New words come and go, and people coin different meanings for them in addition to what the dictionary says. they mean, just so that they can be used more often.”
“Your wife Mara of the City.
I always felt that it was extremely important that I added the 'of the city', just in case some friend of his should read it and think I was still a village woman.”
“And why do we have to live here? Not because we want to, Mara. You yourself will find out soon. But because many of us have sold our properties and inheritance and taken money from every member of our family just to come here to work in the factories we heard at home were in abundance and needing workers. You have to come here to know that it is not true. But we have already taken all this plenty money from back home. So how do we return home with empty hands? We must find the money somehow, fair or foul. And anyway, who will believe you at home if you return and tell them that there is no work, and that German people too are themselves without jobs?
You will be accused of being a born failure, or they will say that you offended the gods and the ancestors, and that you are trying to justify your shame by dissuading other people from going to Europe to try their luck. Do you understand me now?'”
“I tried to sleep but couldn't. She too obstinately refused to start any talk again. But our conversation was ripping my thoughts apart and I was craving to talk.”
“Seeing that his labour had all been for nothing, he was very sour, because Akobi does nothing for nothing, or at least, hates doing something for nothing.”
“'And now let the spirits of our family rest a while' he went on to Gitte. 'You have called up their names so much that they must be turning in their sleep if they are in bed or clutching their stomachs in pain if they are having a meal.'
Later I learned that this was a strategy of Akob's. When the going got tough he would conjure up extravagant superstitions. Gitte, who, like most Europeans, believed That all Africans were full of primitive superstitions, always fell for it.
As Osey would say, they have their own images of us: very rude, very rough, very low. We don't fight with them about these. We use them to our advantage.”
November 16, 2022
3.5 stars? Maybe?
I can't think of a novel that more espouses the archetype of african fiction being riddled with trauma. Mara (beautiful name) a young girl of indeterminate age in rural Ghana is married off to the city where she struggles to adapt to the individualistic gritty life while trying to maintain an erratic and incredibly violent marriage (naturally).
Through a series of events both illegally travel to Germany. The husband for greener pastures and later Mara to join the husband, Akobi. The patterns of abuse and manipulation replicate and escalate, the height of which is Mara getting prostituted by Akobi and his associate(s).
If you liked A Woman Is No Man you would definitely enjoy this- not sure the reverse works. While I feel both are too literal/lacking nuance in their approach of patriarchy as an overall theme, I thought Beyond the Horizon was a little less so and therefore a much better read. I liked how it brought together the themes of borders/immigration, racism, patriarchy, aesthetics, sex trafficking etc. with such clear interconnectedness.
Nevertheless, the married off teen to physical battery story pipeline is clogged at this point, I truly hope I have read all of them now.
I can't think of a novel that more espouses the archetype of african fiction being riddled with trauma. Mara (beautiful name) a young girl of indeterminate age in rural Ghana is married off to the city where she struggles to adapt to the individualistic gritty life while trying to maintain an erratic and incredibly violent marriage (naturally).
Through a series of events both illegally travel to Germany. The husband for greener pastures and later Mara to join the husband, Akobi. The patterns of abuse and manipulation replicate and escalate, the height of which is Mara getting prostituted by Akobi and his associate(s).
If you liked A Woman Is No Man you would definitely enjoy this- not sure the reverse works. While I feel both are too literal/lacking nuance in their approach of patriarchy as an overall theme, I thought Beyond the Horizon was a little less so and therefore a much better read. I liked how it brought together the themes of borders/immigration, racism, patriarchy, aesthetics, sex trafficking etc. with such clear interconnectedness.
Nevertheless, the married off teen to physical battery story pipeline is clogged at this point, I truly hope I have read all of them now.
June 1, 2023
Harrowing story of a woman from Ghana married off to an abusive husband who loves someone else and pulls out an intercontinental scheme to be with that person. It's a very painful reading and contains vivid descriptions of sexual and domestic violence. Definitely worth reading though! The story starts at the end and then goes back to the beginning and I definitely think it could have been a full-fledged novel than a short novella.
October 27, 2021
I am conflicted with my review for this book. I think it deserves 5 stars for the story it carries. The tale of Mara and even Gitte is one we hardly here story tellers writing about. However I am also conflicted by the picture of naiveness Mara portrays and how little strength she has but then this is not a far fetched truth of reality perhaps.
June 30, 2020
I love this book. It’s emotional. This book left me feeling so sad. It’s so sad how a person could abuse another human.It’s a book worth reading I encourage anyone that comes across it to get it and read.
February 28, 2020
This book ! Not sure how i felt at the end of it
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews