Anthills of the Savannah
There was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra |
Anthills of the Savannah is a 1987
Plot
The plot centres around the political intrigue in an imaginary West African country of Kangan, where a Sandhurst-trained officer, identified only as Sam and known as "His Excellency", has taken power following a military coup. Achebe describes the political situation through the experiences of three friends: Chris Oriko, the government's Commissioner for Information; Beatrice Okoh, an official in the Ministry of Finance and girlfriend of Chris; and Ikem Osodi, a newspaper editor critical of the regime. Other characters include Elewa, Ikem's girlfriend, and Major "Samsonite" Ossai, a military official known for stapling hands with a Samsonite stapler. Tensions escalate throughout the novel, culminating in the assassination of Ikem by the regime, the toppling and death of Sam, and finally the murder of Chris. The book ends with a non-traditional naming ceremony for Elewa and Ikem's month-old daughter, organized by Beatrice.
Reception
The novel was well-received by critics. Charles Johnson, writing for The Washington Post, praised the book but faulted Achebe for failing to fully flesh out his characters.[3] Nadine Gordimer praised the book's humour, particularly when contrasted against its depictions of horrors.[4] Ben Okri described it in The Observer as Achebe's "most complex and his wisest book to date".[5]
References
- ^ Jaggi, Maya (18 November 2000), "Storyteller of the savannah", The Guardian.
- Rodopi. 1.
- ^ Johnson, Charles (7 February 1988). "'Anthills of the Savannah' by Chinua Achebe". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
- ^ Gordimer, Nadine (21 February 1988). "A TYRANNY OF CLOWNS". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
- ^ Cited in Boehmer, Elleke (1990), "Of Goddesses and Stories: Gender and a New Politics in Achebe's Anthills of the Savannah", Kunapipi, Vol. 12, Issue 2, p. 102.
External links
- D. A. N. Jones, "Powerful People" (review), London Review of Books, Vol. 9, No. 18, 15 October 1987, pp. 24–25.
- Charles Johnson, "‘Anthills of the Savannah’ by Chinua Achebe" (review), The Washington Post, 22 March 2013; reprinted from 7 February 1988.