Synopses & Reviews
The Fortunes of Wangrin
Amadou Hampaté Bâ [note special accents on the "e" in Hampate and "a" Ba not correctly reproduced here--see ms.]
Translated by Aina Pavolini Taylor with an Introduction by F. Abiola Irele
Winner of the Grand Prix Litteraire de l'Afrique Noire
"I think this is perhaps the best African novel on colonialism and it draws very richly on various modes of oral literature." --Ralph Austen, University of Chicago
"It is a wonderful introduction to colonial rule as experienced by Africans, and in particular, to the rule of African middlemen." --Martin A. Klein, University of Toronto
"The Fortunes of Wangrin is not only a wonderful novel by one of Africa's most renowned intellectuals, it is also literally filled with information about French colonization and its impact on traditional African societies, African resistance and collaboration to colonization, the impact of French education in Africa, and a host of other subjects of interest." --Francois Manchuelle, New York University
Wangrin is a rogue and an operator, hustling both the colonial French and his own people. He is funny, outrageous, corrupt, traditional, and memorable. Bâ's book bridges the chasm between oral and written literature. The stories about Wangrin are drawn from oral sources, but in the hands of this gifted writer these materials become transformed through the power of artistic imagination and license.
The Fortunes of Wangrin is a classic in Franchophone African literature.
Amadou Hampaté Bâ was a distinguished Malian poet and scholar of African oral tradition and precolonial history.
Aina Pavolini Taylor is an independent translator with wide experience of Africa, now living and working in Italy.
F. Abiola Irele is a professor in the Department of Black Studies at Ohio State University.
Synopsis
The Fortunes of Wangrin
Amadou Hampat B note specialaccents on the e in Hampate and a Ba not correctly reproduced here -- seems.]
Translated by Aina Pavolini Taylor with an Introduction by F. AbiolaIrele
Winner of the Grand Prix Litteraire de l'Afrique Noire
I think this is perhaps the best African novel on colonialismand it draws very richly on various modes of oral literature. -- Ralph Austen, University of Chicago
It is a wonderful introduction to colonialrule as experienced by Africans, and in particular, to the rule of Africanmiddlemen. -- Martin A. Klein, University of Toronto
TheFortunes of Wangrin is not only a wonderful novel by one of Africa's most renownedintellectuals, it is also literally filled with information about Frenchcolonization and its impact on traditional African societies, African resistance andcollaboration to colonization, the impact of French education in Africa, and a hostof other subjects of interest. -- Francois Manchuelle, New YorkUniversity
Wangrin is a rogue and an operator, hustling both thecolonial French and his own people. He is funny, outrageous, corrupt, traditional, and memorable. B 's book bridges the chasm between oral and written literature. Thestories about Wangrin are drawn from oral sources, but in the hands of this giftedwriter these materials become transformed through the power of artistic imaginationand license.
The Fortunes of Wangrin is a classic in FranchophoneAfrican literature.
Amadou Hampat B was a distinguished Malianpoet and scholar of African oral tradition and precolonialhistory.
Aina Pavolini Taylor is an independent translator withwide experience of Africa, now living and working in Italy.
F.Abiola Irele is a professor in the Department of Black Studies at Ohio StateUniversity.
About the Author
Amadou Hampaté BÂ was a distinguished Malian poet and scholar of African oral tradition and precolonial history.
Aina Pavolini Taylor is an independent translator with wide experience of Africa, now living and working in Italy.
F. Abiola Irele is a professor in the Department of Black Studies at Ohio State University.
Table of Contents
Foreword
Overture
1. The Birth
2. Diagaramba
3. First Confrontation
4. The Beginning of a Career
5. Where the Calamities of Some...
6. The Storm Breaks
7. The Count's Messenger
8. The Trial
9. The Donkey Who Drank Honey
10. Romo's Son and Beautiful Pugubila
11. The Death of a Great Chief and What Came Out of It
12. The Ambush
13. The Calamitous Bird's Eggs
14. A Cumbersome Turban
15. Where Each Gets His Due
16. The Dream of the Fulbe Shepherdess
17. Pretty Much in the Lion's Jaws
18. Where Wangrin is Off Once Again to a Good Start
19. A Profitable Pledge
20. The Reconversion
21. An Elephant's Tale
22. A Disquieting Arrival
23. Pretty Doe of the Markets
24. Two Birds with One Stone
25. A Narrow Escape
26.... In Which Romo Keeps His Promise...and Wangrin His
27. A Souvenir That Bears Wangrin's Trademark
28. First Warning: The Hausa Geomancer
29. Madame White-White
30. Second and Third Warnings: A Fatal Oversight and the Sacred Python
31. Madame "Good Offices"
32. The Irreparable Loss
33. Last Warning: The Dove with a Black Ring Circling Half Her Neck
34. Philosopher Tramp
35. The Three Bloods and Death
36. Adieu