Through Soyinka’s writing, it is obvious how much he enjoys the memories of childhood. The imagination of 3-year-old Wole testifies against the irrational world of adults. Much to the frustration of his family, Wole’s habit of questioning everything helps him to apply his own reasoning (however fantastical) upon such debates that “there can be no rain without water” (54). While the novel does call for some suspension of disbelief, Soyinka introduces outlooks that I’ve never thought or contested. Soyinka portrays his need to hold onto imagination because the adult reality of Aké is far too depressing and I think this book offers a little breather from Dangarembga.
The scene-by-scene depiction makes Wole’s experiences just as immediate for the reader, especially the time where Wole is walking through the marketplace and the explosion of sensory overload of all the food. Only halfway through the novel, colonization is mentioned only in passing. This makes me wonder how Wole’s world will change as the book progresses? Will he lose his youthful wisdom under the tutelage of another Miss Plato character? Will Wole have the nerve to go against imperialism, unlike Tambu?
First, I want to say that I adore the nickname his parents and relatives call him: Little Lawyer. They tease him and say how he "lawyers" himself out of trouble - like the scene where he gets trouble for talking during church and challenges the authoritative figure to prove it was even him. Hilarious and clever, I say! This kid IS a kid. He asks questions; he tries to weasel his way out of trouble; he constructs explanations out of, to us, thin air.
ReplyDeleteSolyinka portrays this youthful innocence very well and indeed grasps inner thoughts beautifully. In opinion, his thought processes in the military compound are written in the manner in which we can imagine they are actually thought.