What am I rambling on about? It is fair that I reveal what goes on at the back of my mind in the next sentence - yeah?
Chinualumogu Achebe is the one wielding the power to draw me out of my incommunicado'ness'. The fact that I can address a Nigerian 85 year old man by his known names - no other salutations attached to - is a sign of some breath-of-fresh-air simplicity.
I have not been much a Nigerian/African literature reader. My first readings were compulsory and as such I read to fulfill all righteousness, so I could pass my English Lit exams. My thoughts while I read most of them was 'boring', 'too basic', 'not intellectually stimulating' etc. I read a few that stimulated me, notably amongst them was Time Changes Yesterday. If memory serves me right, Enitan was the protagonist. It was refreshing. At the time, I can say I was cultivating my reading habit. I was reading Mills and Boons and a few James Hardley Chase, some Enid Blyton and sparsely Famous Five etc. So in comparison with the African counterpart, Western reads seemed better-more suited to my 'taste'. For one, I learned new words and went on fantasies with the author to places I would not have had the privilege to be.
Then by some stroke of 'fate' which I cannot quite recall in exact detail, and ironically while I was far away from home, I found Chinua again. I bought a copy of the trilogy: things fall apart, arrow of God and no longer at ease - from amazon at the same time i bought a copy of his latest effort: there was a country. I suspect that the flurry of activities surrounding the book piqued my interest. I must have decided to get some background on the guy's work by reading his previous books. Interesting stuff summarizes my reaction.
So many eulogies have been rendered on his demise. This is my 2 cents in hailing the fearless story teller who represented many things I am drawn to. Rest In Peace Prof!
And my book mark Quotes
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