Now in paperback, The Shadow of Things to Come and its catastrophic
and carnivalesque dreamscape speak out against political rhetoric
and the destruction of meaning by government. In an unnamed African
nation, the people are subject to a state of perpetual warfare and
to an Orwellian abuse of language that strips from language its
meaning and renders life senseless. And in a bare room lit only by
moonlight, a young man hides, waiting for the mysterious
crocodile-men to come and help him escape from the violent tyranny
of the state. While he waits, he tells his story. This is Kossi
Efoui's catastrophic and carnivalesque dreamscape, the dark setting
of The Shadow of Things to Come. Here, men and women are taken in
the night, spirited away from their families, and sent to
plantation penal colonies to be worked to the edge of madness. When
they return, they are empty shells, their lost time referred to as
the "Time of Annexation." But though his parents were taken, our
protagonist survived, first in the care of a quirky benefactress
named Mama Maize, then under the wing of the state itself, as a
student at one of its elite schools. When he meets a bookseller
named Axis Kemal, however, he has found a surrogate father, an
eccentric and wise man who can bring him out of the meaningless
confusion and tell him the truth about the society he lives in.
Through his characters, Efoui speaks out against atrocity and the
abuse of power, but more, he writes against political rhetoric and
the destruction of meaning by government. This novel is a love
letter to language and, in Chris Turner's dazzling translation, it
becomes a stunning introduction for English-language readers to an
exciting new talent.
General
Imprint: |
Seagull Books London Ltd
|
Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
Series: |
The Africa List |
Release date: |
August 2021 |
Authors: |
Kossi Efoui
|
Translators: |
Chris Turner
|
Dimensions: |
203 x 127 x 13mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
152 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-85742-873-8 |
Categories: |
Books >
Fiction >
General & literary fiction >
Modern fiction
|
LSN: |
0-85742-873-X |
Barcode: |
9780857428738 |
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