Sarah Ladipo Manyika: Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun

[Ben Jackson]

This novel, the second from Manyika, is about Murayo Day Silva, a 75 year old retired English Professor and a Nigerian descent, who lives in San Francisco. Formerly married to an Ambassador and having lived in China and London before arriving San Franciscospends her days enjoying road trips and chatting with strangers and friends, Sunshine, her neighbour, Reggie Bailey, a Guyaana and retired Economics lecturer, now caring for his wife who now has Parkinson's disease, Li Wei, a Chinese Postman, Amirah and her brother Dawud, Palestinian cake shopowners, Bella from Nicaraguan, Tousaaint, a care home chef, Sage, homeless Grateful Dead devotee, and Antonio, a poet whom Murayo desires, and reading books, often collecting several copies of the same tome and daydreams of writing a novel. She has an accident (a fall that results from a broken hip) and her independence is shattered (she leaves in a Home for recuperation), without the support of family, she relies on friends.

This beautiful novella moves from past and present, offering several short but illuminating personality profiles of several characters with Murayo at the center. It lapses into first person narration from the secondary characters themselves, enabling the reader to contrast how the secondary characters see the character of Murayo (her liveliness, sexiness and stylistic outlook) against her own self-perception and the characters' own stories vs what she assumes. The slight issue I have is that I wanted the work to be longer, at least fifty to hundred pages more, at least to do justice in development of the secondary characters. But all the same, this inventive and beautiful novella about friendship and erotic yearnings of an older woman and a commentary on life changes associated with ageing including changes in decision making and freedom.

 

[tiganeasca]

This novel, the second from Manyinka, is about Murayo Day Silva, a 75 year old retired English Professor and a Nigerian descent, who lives in San Francisco. Formerly married to an Ambassador and having lived in China and London before arriving San Franciscospends her days enjoying road trips and chatting with strangers and friends, Sunshine, her neighbour, Reggie Bailey, a Guyaana and retired Economics lecturer, now caring for his wife who now has Parkinson's disease, Li Wei, a Chinese Postman, Amirah and her brother Dawud, Palestinian cake shopowners, Bella from Nicaraguan, Tousaaint, a care home chef, Sage, homeless Grateful Dead devotee, and Antonio, a poet whom Murayo desires, and reading books, often collecting several copies of the same tome and daydreams of writing a novel. She has an accident (a fall that results from a broken hip) and her independence is shattered (she leaves in a Home for recuperation), without the support of family, she relies on friends.

This beautiful novella moves from past and present, offering several short but illuminating personality profiles of several characters with Murayo at the center. It lapses into first person narration from the secondary characters themselves, enabling the reader to contrast how the secondary characters see the character of Murayo (her liveliness, sexiness and stylistic outlook) against her own self-perception and the characters' own stories vs what she assumes. The slight issue I have is that I wanted the work to be longer, at least fifty to hundred pages more, at least to do justice in development of the secondary characters. But all the same, this inventive and beautiful novella about friendship and erotic yearnings of an older woman and a commentary on life changes associated with ageing including changes in decision making and freedom.

Thanks for this concise, intelligent review. If I weren't curious about her actual writing, I'd say you saved me from having to read it!

 

[Daniel del Real]

I had the chance to see the presentation of her recently Spanish translated novel, In Dependence at Hay Festival Querétaro. I really liked her personality and point of views about African diaspora and literature. Purchased the novel, which could be a bit complex based on all the characters and historical events associated to it; at least it has a table at the beggining of the book to ease the reading.