The Palm Wine Drinkard
Another outstanding book recommendation from my great friend and now co-founder, Mike Schwartz.
In this early exploration of magical realism, Amos Tutuola taunts and cajoles in a phantasmagorical fever dream that dares you to hang onto your sensibilities. While loquacious, he displays a staggering degree of self awareness in how he counters the panoply of wild folktales with a modicum of sanity. It sometimes feels like he is creating his own language, and teaching you how to speak it, in real time.
When the book was first released, to widespread contempt, Dylan Thomas recognized its brilliance and regaled it as such. In 1952, it was acquired and published by T.S. Eliot, making it the first African novel published in English outside of Africa. I was so taken by it that i managed to finish it in 2 sittings. I recommend you read it.
If you enjoyed reading this and want to support my quest for knowledge, please buy me a book.
