| ||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.90
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in Sozaboy: A Novel in Rotten English (Longman African Writers/Classics) for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.90, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
‘This is both a novel of self-discovery and an indictment of a corrupt and muddled war – a kind of sombre picaresque lifted by the vivacity of its language’
Helen Birch, City Limits
William Boyd, who has written the introduction to Sozaboy, has described the author as ‘an extraordinary man and an extraordinary writer.’
Product Description
Sozaboy describes the fortunes of a young naive recruit in the Nigerian Civil War: from the first proud days of recruitment to the disillusionment, confusion and horror that follows. The author's use of 'rotten English' - a mixture of Nigerian pidgin English, broken English and idiomatic English - makes this a unique and powerful novel.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I had to read this book as part of a university course exploring the relations between language and power, but having now finished university I can say it was one of my favourite texts.
'Sozaboy' (Soldier-boy) is written in what the author called "Rotten English": a mixture of Nigerian language, pidgin English and occasional bursts of idiomatic English. If you are daunted by that, don't be - it takes about 20 pages to get into the flow, and after that you only have to refer to the glossary for the more obscure phrases (some of which are very evocative, such as 'see pepper' for 'be angry').
The story is based on the real events in Saro-Wiwa's homeland of Nigeria; the eponymous 'Sozaboy' is a member of a small tribe and enthusiastically signs up to fight for it. The contrast between his naive belief and the reality of jungle warfare, his small village and the city, and his war experience and that of an old man who fought in Burma in WW2 is brought to life vividly by the rhythms and the colourful similes of Saro-Wiwa's prose. It is a very moving story, brought to a climax by a disturbing piece of magic realism (at least *I* think it is magic realism) that dramatically captures the dislocated mindset of a soldier returning home.
Ken Saro-Wiwa was executed by the Nigerian authorities in November 1995 (after the British government refused to intervene) because they felt threatened by intelligent works such as this. This short novel may therefore be one of the most politically important you read in your life; but you should also enjoy it. Whether you are a student of post-colonial literature, or have never read any before, 'Sozaboy' is a must - and I highly recommend it for personal reading too.
'Sozaboy' (Soldier-boy) is written in what the author called "Rotten English": a mixture of Nigerian language, pidgin English and occasional bursts of idiomatic English. If you are daunted by that, don't be - it takes about 20 pages to get into the flow, and after that you only have to refer to the glossary for the more obscure phrases (some of which are very evocative, such as 'see pepper' for 'be angry').
The story is based on the real events in Saro-Wiwa's homeland of Nigeria; the eponymous 'Sozaboy' is a member of a small tribe and enthusiastically signs up to fight for it. The contrast between his naive belief and the reality of jungle warfare, his small village and the city, and his war experience and that of an old man who fought in Burma in WW2 is brought to life vividly by the rhythms and the colourful similes of Saro-Wiwa's prose. It is a very moving story, brought to a climax by a disturbing piece of magic realism (at least *I* think it is magic realism) that dramatically captures the dislocated mindset of a soldier returning home.
Ken Saro-Wiwa was executed by the Nigerian authorities in November 1995 (after the British government refused to intervene) because they felt threatened by intelligent works such as this. This short novel may therefore be one of the most politically important you read in your life; but you should also enjoy it. Whether you are a student of post-colonial literature, or have never read any before, 'Sozaboy' is a must - and I highly recommend it for personal reading too.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This short novel is a powerful piece of literature, page for page probably one of the greatest anti-war novels ever written.
The language used is what the author calls "rotten English", and it gives the reader a feeling of immediacy, a sense of sitting next to the protagonist in a bar somewhere, listening to him pour out his tale of woe.
We won't soon see the likes of this book again -- the author, Ken Saro-Wiwa, was executed by Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha in 1995. Saro-Wiwa's masterpiece stands as both a testament to his genius, and the insanity of the regime he lived and died under.
Read this book.
The language used is what the author calls "rotten English", and it gives the reader a feeling of immediacy, a sense of sitting next to the protagonist in a bar somewhere, listening to him pour out his tale of woe.
We won't soon see the likes of this book again -- the author, Ken Saro-Wiwa, was executed by Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha in 1995. Saro-Wiwa's masterpiece stands as both a testament to his genius, and the insanity of the regime he lived and died under.
Read this book.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Do not be daunted by the "rotten english". This book is filled with every extreme emotion from laughter to absolute dispair. The style Ken Saro Wiwa has adopted to write this novel embodies the real life attitude of Nigerian people. In one short book the reader learns what it is to try and live in modern Nigeria. It is more a story of survival than a story of triumph over adversity. Humour is carefully woven throughout the tragic tale of a young man who is drawn into conflict and forced to be a soldier. You soon become accustomed to the coloquial english. It is not unlike a sort of street talk or slang. Once you reach the end of the book you can't help feeling sad that there is no more to read. Even sadder that the author was put to death in his own country for speaking up for his people. So there will be no more masterpieces like "Sosa Boy", making this book all the more precious. After finishing this novel I listen more carefully to the news buletins concerning Africa. I feel this book has given me an excellent insight into Nigerian life. I recommend it to all.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
