Abie follows the arc of a letter from London back to Africa to a coffee plantation that now could be hers if she wants it. Standing among the ruined groves she strains to hear the sound of the past, but the layers of years are too many. Thus begins the gathering of her family's history through the tales of her aunts - four women born to four different wives of a wealthy plantation owner, her grandfather. Asana, Mariama, Hawa and Serah: theirs is the story of a nation, a family and four women's attempts to alter the course of her own destiny.
Ancestor Stones
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Review
"Forna succeeds in creating an inventive and memorable
narrative" -- The Observer
"Her lyrical first novel derives much power from personal history. It's a
passionate book" -- The Sunday Telegraph
"Her episodic first novel - half short story collection, half
family epic - is rewarding... It is full of brilliant images"
-- The Guardian
'Beautiful novel by a great writer who always gives you a sense
that you are eavesdropping on whispered conversations' -- Daily Ireland
'Forna's tender, haunting novel is a celebration of the enduring
power of such private narratives' -- Sunday Telegraph
'Small details illuminate this unfamiliar culture and Forna
carries us through her novel with an enviable knack for storytelling' -- Metro
...Forna succeeds in creating an inventive and memorable
narrative.
-- the Observer the Observer
[Ancestor Stones] giv[es] a kaleidoscopic sweep across West
Africa's troubled 20th century. It's a passionate book. -- the Telegraph
narrative" -- The Observer
"Her lyrical first novel derives much power from personal history. It's a
passionate book" -- The Sunday Telegraph
"Her episodic first novel - half short story collection, half
family epic - is rewarding... It is full of brilliant images"
-- The Guardian
'Beautiful novel by a great writer who always gives you a sense
that you are eavesdropping on whispered conversations' -- Daily Ireland
'Forna's tender, haunting novel is a celebration of the enduring
power of such private narratives' -- Sunday Telegraph
'Small details illuminate this unfamiliar culture and Forna
carries us through her novel with an enviable knack for storytelling' -- Metro
...Forna succeeds in creating an inventive and memorable
narrative.
-- the Observer the Observer
[Ancestor Stones] giv[es] a kaleidoscopic sweep across West
Africa's troubled 20th century. It's a passionate book. -- the Telegraph
About the Author
Aminatta Forna is an author, broadcaster and journalist. Her last book, The Devil that Danced on the Water, was runner-up for the Samuel Johnson Prize 2003. Formerly a television reporter, Aminatta has presented and produced numerous television programmes for the BBC including the arts and culture magazine programme The Late Show and the BBC political flagship On the Record. She has won several awards for her television work, and in 1996 directed and presented a documentary on Africa's art, 'Through African Eyes', a PBS/BBC co-production, which today is shown to students of African art and culture in universities across the USA. Aminatta has hosted radio series including An Essential Guide to the 21st Century (World Service), The Travellers Souk and In Living Colour (BBC Radio 4). She is a contributor to several newspapers including the Independent, the Observer, the Sunday Times and the Evening Standard. She has acted as a judge for the Macmillan African Writer's Prize in 2003, the Samuel Johnson Prize in 2004 and the Caine Prize for Africa 2005.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
35 of 35 people found the following review helpful
By Jeannie
Format:Paperback
I could not put this book down. It is the most compelling a refreshing thing I have read in years!
This is the story of one family, the Kholifa's, told through the stories of four sisters. They are all daughters of a polygamous wealthy plantation owner, but of different mothers, giving each woman a very different place in the family and different life chances. At the same time the country they are in - which is never named, the author is from Sierra Leone - is going through changes: colonialism, independence, dictatorship, war. But the stories that are told from their lives, whilst reflecting the wider dimensions, are seen through a narrow lens that focuses on the detail. A little girl takes her revenge on the village after her mother dies. An older wife helps a younger wife escape a loveless marriage. Serah, the youngest and the one sister who follows the Western dream, gets her first pair of (red) shoes, falls in love - and unwittingly and hilariously fakes an election result. A woman, waiting for her soldier son to return home, sells her gold earrings to buy a packet of sugar just to keep up appearances. In one of the most frightening and poignant scenes, an old woman hides in a wooden chest and watches through a hole while rebel soldiers ransack the town. Each chapter is written from the perspective of one of the chracters and as a self-contained story. But it all adds up to an awesome whole. It is a peephole into a world I never knew, and when I finished it I was left wanting a whole lot more. It is also written in the most lyrical prose, which suffuses the whole book - though some of the subjects are grim - with a sense of beauty. I have read quite a few books by Asian authors, but only just been introduced to writing from Africa. I would compare this to the God of Small Things - especially with the focus on tiny details of life. I read Half of a Yellow Sun, after seeing it on Richard & Judy. If you liked that you'll like this. It is different in lots of ways, but just as good.
This is the story of one family, the Kholifa's, told through the stories of four sisters. They are all daughters of a polygamous wealthy plantation owner, but of different mothers, giving each woman a very different place in the family and different life chances. At the same time the country they are in - which is never named, the author is from Sierra Leone - is going through changes: colonialism, independence, dictatorship, war. But the stories that are told from their lives, whilst reflecting the wider dimensions, are seen through a narrow lens that focuses on the detail. A little girl takes her revenge on the village after her mother dies. An older wife helps a younger wife escape a loveless marriage. Serah, the youngest and the one sister who follows the Western dream, gets her first pair of (red) shoes, falls in love - and unwittingly and hilariously fakes an election result. A woman, waiting for her soldier son to return home, sells her gold earrings to buy a packet of sugar just to keep up appearances. In one of the most frightening and poignant scenes, an old woman hides in a wooden chest and watches through a hole while rebel soldiers ransack the town. Each chapter is written from the perspective of one of the chracters and as a self-contained story. But it all adds up to an awesome whole. It is a peephole into a world I never knew, and when I finished it I was left wanting a whole lot more. It is also written in the most lyrical prose, which suffuses the whole book - though some of the subjects are grim - with a sense of beauty. I have read quite a few books by Asian authors, but only just been introduced to writing from Africa. I would compare this to the God of Small Things - especially with the focus on tiny details of life. I read Half of a Yellow Sun, after seeing it on Richard & Judy. If you liked that you'll like this. It is different in lots of ways, but just as good.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By Michael May
Format:Hardcover
Ancestor Stones captivates. In shining prose Aminatta Forna draws the reader into a world of magic and memory, an Africa in the throes of change. The narrative threads of the interwoven stories tell us more about the evolution of this society than any history text. The female voices of the protagonist and her forbears testify to changes wrought through religious adoption, cultural imperialism, fiscal exploitation; through loss of innocence, by incidental and inflicted sorrows and stoic acceptance. I came to respect these women, even when I didn't especially like them, and their hope finally left me with a rekindled certainty in the resilience of the human spirit.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By Eleanor
Format:Hardcover
I'm a bit of a lazy reader at times, particularly when it comes to learning the history of different countries and regions. I really loved Ancestor Stones because it somehow told you so much about the recent history of Sierra Leone at the same time as weaving a compelling and wonderfully believable story of the lives of five women. It was beautiful and heartrending and reminded me forcefully that history in the end is lived by individuals and that the history of a nation in many ways is the collective story of individuals. I may not be doing it justice, so all I can say is that I would highly recommend this book. It's not perfect but it's very good indeed.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Woven stories
I would like to give this 4.5 stars as I really enjoyed it but not quite in my 'best reads ever'. It is essentially a collection of short stories woven together and forming the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by J. A. West
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ancestor Stones
Finally finished the second book by this author and I am glad it did not disappoint. The story as well as the characters are rich and original and Aminatta captures the environment... Read more
Published 12 months ago by F. Irele
5.0 out of 5 stars
ancestor stones:
a beautifully written story of family roots. poetic prose evoking the life that came before the war in Sierra Leone. Read more
Published 12 months ago by frances p
4.0 out of 5 stars
A book full of insights, and refreshingly free of pretensions
Having searched for books by authors from this part of Africa, it was inevitable that I would come across this authors work towards the end of 2011, when I tentatively began the... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Miss J. M. Austin
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fascinating story
This book is interesting and beautifully written. I love Forna's style of writing. It came very quickly and was very reasonably priced.
Published 15 months ago by Sarah_85
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing
After reading the description of the book I thought that this was my kind of story but I found the arrangement of the book too disjointed and I lost track of who was relating their... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Kindler
3.0 out of 5 stars
Ancester Stones
I didn't get on with this book, to the point where I had to put it down for a month or so half way through before forcing myself to continue. Read more
Published 16 months ago by C Cochrane-Davies
1.0 out of 5 stars
Dull & uninteresting with no redeeming features
Bought this based upon the small number of favourable reviews. I should have paid more attention to the review that described this as "slow and plodding" Frankly speaking... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Mr Q
3.0 out of 5 stars
Slow and plodding
I must say, after reading such glowing reviews for this book I was pretty disappointed. While the story held potential I found the book to be slow and rather tedious; endless... Read more
Published 17 months ago by S. A. Edwards
5.0 out of 5 stars
Spellbinding read
A beautifully written tale of five African women related by marriage. Each woman's distinctive voice tells her life story through revealing episodes which read as discrete short... Read more
Published 19 months ago by M MYDDLE
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