I'm sure there are many here who had read this book. Did not see a discussion on this hence thought of creating one..
What is the most talked about this book is the use of language, "a novel in rotten English" as the author himself calls it. It is seldom we see the language itself is taking the form of a character in any narrative. One of the most striking differences over other war( or anti-war to be precise) novels, is this creative use of the language.
Ken Saro wiwa in his foreword says,
The post independent Nigeria was marred with sectarian violence lasting over three decades. Literary works around this theme had been around the world for many years from Nigeria,and even until recently ( half of Yellow sun etc).
Ken Saro-Wiwa was a writer, television producer, human right activist and environmentalist. He was arrested and put to trial by the Nigerian Authority accusing him of creating communal disturbance and of inciting riots. He was sentenced to death by the special court and he was hanged to death along with 8 others on the 10th of November 1995.
Its a book about war, the senselessness of war, the atrocities, the human disaster. Those who fought did not know for what they were fighting for and for whom ? They were recruited en masse and often paid meager salary living under pathetic condition. Many a times, they fought for both the warring parties.
As the last words spoken by Sozaboy, tells it all..
"
Sozaboy is a masterpiece of African Literature.
What is the most talked about this book is the use of language, "a novel in rotten English" as the author himself calls it. It is seldom we see the language itself is taking the form of a character in any narrative. One of the most striking differences over other war( or anti-war to be precise) novels, is this creative use of the language.
Ken Saro wiwa in his foreword says,
"Sozaboy's language is what I call 'rotten English,' a mixture of Nigerian pidgin English, broken English and occasional flashes of good, even idiomatic English. This language is disordered and disorderly. Born of a mediocre education and severely limited opportunities, it borrows words, patterns and images freely from the mother-tongue and finds expression in a very limited English vocabulary. To its speakers, it has the advantage of having no rules and no syntax. It thrives on lawlessness, and is part of the dislocated and discordant society in which Sozaboy must live, move and have not his being."
The post independent Nigeria was marred with sectarian violence lasting over three decades. Literary works around this theme had been around the world for many years from Nigeria,and even until recently ( half of Yellow sun etc).
Ken Saro-Wiwa was a writer, television producer, human right activist and environmentalist. He was arrested and put to trial by the Nigerian Authority accusing him of creating communal disturbance and of inciting riots. He was sentenced to death by the special court and he was hanged to death along with 8 others on the 10th of November 1995.
Its a book about war, the senselessness of war, the atrocities, the human disaster. Those who fought did not know for what they were fighting for and for whom ? They were recruited en masse and often paid meager salary living under pathetic condition. Many a times, they fought for both the warring parties.
" Well, I don't think it is good thing or bad thing. Even sef I don't want to think. What they talk, we must do. Myself, if they say fight, I fight. If they say no fight, I cannot fight. Finish."
As the last words spoken by Sozaboy, tells it all..
"
And I was thinking how I was prouding before to go to soza and call myself Sozaboy. But now if anybody say anything about war or even fight, I will just run and run and run and run and run. Believe me yours sincerely"
Sozaboy is a masterpiece of African Literature.