Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on Ama Ata Aidoo – books podcast

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie shares why she admires the ‘old-fashioned social realism’ of the Ghanaian writer’s No Sweetness Here, then reads the story, as part of our seasonal series of short stories selected by leading novelists

‘The stories in No Sweetness Here, of post-independence Ghana in the 1960s, are written beautifully and wisely and with great subtlety. The characters lie uneasily between old and new, live in rural and urban areas and struggle to deal with the unpleasant surprises of independence.

There is a keen but understated longing for the past in these stories. Aidoo is too good a writer to paint with overly broad brush strokes. She does not at all suggest that the past was perfect; there is no romanticising of culture. “No Sweetness Here”, the title story, is the kind of beautiful, old-fashioned social realism I have always been drawn to in fiction. It does what I think all good literature should: it has something to say and it entertains you. But girding that entertainment value is substance, solid and interesting and true. Aidoo has a fantastic sly wit and humour and she does not hit you over the head with her “message”, but after you have greedily finished each story in her collection, you sit back and realise that you have been through an intellectual experience as well.’

Continue reading...

from Books | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2Q3yQWU

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mine management and predictive maintenance are top priorities for miners

Image
While miners are starting to trial and make small investments in technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and cloud computing, the traditionally conservative mining sector remains focused on improving efficiency and productivity by continuing to invest in mine management software and predictive maintenance. GlobalData’s latest report, Global Mine-Site Technology Adoption Survey 2018 , reveals that while investment by the majors is currently well ahead of mid-tier miners and producing juniors, higher shares of the latter two groups are planning investments in mine management software and predictive maintenance given their immediate impact on improving productivity. Source: GlobalData Mining Intelligence Center The report includes data and analysis from the company’s survey of over 200 worldwide mine sites which investigated the extent to which mines had invested in 13 different technologies ranging from communication systems to drones, predictive maintenance...
Read more

Life Insurance for Older Parents

Image
You never stop being a parent. Even in old age, we still worry about our children and what their future will look like once you are no longer in their lives. Fortunately, with a secure life assurance set up, you are given the opportunity to take care of them even after you are gone. If you are an aging parent and you have dependents who will suffer financial loss if you were to pass away, life insurance can help you find ways to safeguard your loved ones from any financial hardship when you are not around. Normally when you are older, you are settled and enjoying retirement or your golden years Your children are most often older and are now providing for themselves, leaving you only to take care of yourself and your spouse. This usually enables you to save in order to provide for your dependents in the case of your death. However, this is not always the case, which is why many older parents look into purchasing life insurance. Aging parents who are still working ...
Read more