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Book Review: Ngugi Wa Thiong'o's Wizard of the Crow
Ed Schmidt
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An article appearing in Britain's Socialist Worker describes the book's setting: "It is set in the fictional country of Aburiria - a surreally re-imagined Kenya governed by a dictator known only as the Ruler. His three fawning ministers have undergone plastic surgery to enlarge, respectively, their eyes, ears and tongue - the better to see, hear and denounce dissent. For his birthday one of them suggests building a tower so tall that the Ruler will be able to pop in on god - and so the Marching To Heaven project is born. "The Aburirian government tries to persuade the Global Bank to provide loans to fund Marching To Heaven - but it is set back by the organisation of the poor - and a group of militant women in particular - combined with the arrogant contempt of the bank." Ngugi notes that the Marching to Heaven project is a parody of dictatorship, adding, "There is an element of dictatorships that always needs to say that god is on their side." Elsewhere in the book the author notes, "There were many theories about the strange illness of the second Ruler of the Free Republic of Aburiria, but the most frequent on people's lips were five. "The illness, so claimed the first, was born of anger that once welled up inside him; and he was so conscious of the danger it posed to his well-being that he tried all he could to rid himself of it by belching after every meal, sometimes counting from one to ten, and other times chanting ka ke ki ko ku aloud. Why these particular syllables, nobody could tell. Still, they conceded that the Ruler had a point. Just as offensive gases of the constipated need to be expelled, thus easing the burden on the tummy, anger in a person also needs a way out to ease the burden on the heart. This Ruler's anger, however, would not go away, and it continued simmering inside till it consumed his heart. This is believed to be the source of the Aburirian saying that ire is more corrosive than fire, for it once eroded the soul of a Ruler." Want to know the other theories? Read the book. Ngugi's most famous works include: Weep Not Child (1964), The River Between (1965) the Grain of Wheat (1967) and Petals of Blood (1977). He now lives in the US where he lectures at the University of California, Irvine. On December 16 of last year the BBC reported that a Kenyan court has convicted and sentenced three men for the 2004 attack and robbery of Ngugi and his wife. On December 18, Nairobi's The Nation reported that Ngugi stated that he found the sentences excessive. Ngugi notes that he and his wife do not believe in the death sentence, and the attack was motivated by robbery, and does not deserve the death sentence. In a contradictory statement later in the interview, Ngugi stated, "We still have feelings that the main people who orchestrated our attack are still at large and we don't feel our life is safe if these gangsters are enjoying freedom out there." Death Sentence Profile: Ngugi wa Thiong'o Punishment Excessive This article also included quotes from an interview that appeared at salon.com. |