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Reading Pleasure

~ A Blog of Books and Literature

Reading Pleasure

Monthly Archives: July 2012

Of A Death And Acquisitions

31 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by readinpleasure in Challenges, Events, Reading List, TBR List

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

Acquisitions, Azar Nafisi, Death, Khaled Hosseini, Maya Angelou, The Book Trust, Used Books, Virginia Woolf

My dear friends and fellow bloggers, it’s not been easy for us in Ghana these past few days since the unexpected demise of our President, Prof. John Evans Ata Mills; at least for those who saw in him the embodiment of all that is pure, true, noble, humble and selfless. We are still in shock and until his funeral is held from 8th to 10th August 2012 and finally when he is laid to rest on 10th August 2012, everything I do would have a surreal quality to it.

I find it difficult reading the books I have lined up knowing very well that doing just that would be therapeutic for me. I try to blog by catching up on my mails and though that has yielded some results, I am not able to derive pleasure from it like I used to. However, I know deep down in my heart, that I will get over this apathy or lethargy or whatever it is I’m going through now. What I am certain about is that I am in mourning even as the whole nation observe the customary one-week celebration of the death of our illustrious President, today, Tuesday 30th July 2012.

In a completely un-related development, I recently acquired the following books from The Book Trust, in Accra. (a popular and fine outlet for used books from overseas) The prices are very affordable and I’m so pleased with myself. I only pray that I would be able to read and blog on them soon.

  • Reading Lolita in Tehran, A Memoir In Books by Azar Nafisi
  • Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. ( I had read so much being blogged about this  that I just had to buy it when I saw it. I may have to add it to two of the Challenges I’m on; The Classics Club and Back To The Classics Challenge)
  • I know Why The Caged Birds Sing by Maya Angelou
  • A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

I must say that The Book Trust has loads and stacks of books, children’s, YA, text, language, adult and you name it, in quite a number of genres that you can think of. The books are so stacked together that it is quite an arduous task going through to find one’s choice. Funny enough, The Book Trust is just a stone’s throw from where I work and yet I hardly go there because I would not have the time to comb through the piles. Also, most of the time, I forget that The Book Trust is right under my nose. (can you believe that?) To think that a few months back I was raiding bookshops to get my oldest boy some good YA reads when all the time The Book Trust sat patiently nearby waiting for my visit. My virtual arsenal of knowledge, here I come mind you, on a monthly basis. Shalom

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#FridayFictioneers – Aqua Madness

27 Friday Jul 2012

Posted by readinpleasure in Fiction, Friday Fictioneers, Short Stories

≈ 70 Comments

Tags

Environment, Ghana, Madness, Water

It’s Friday again and the fun is on thanks to Madison Woods. These days my participation in the Friday Fictioneers has been on and off, due to my involvement in a project which gets me busy on Fridays. I am chancing it this week as I could not resist the prompt.

So dear friends, here we go. Do bear with me if the story is not up to standard; Ghana is in mourning for we have lost our President, Prof. John Evans Ata Mills. May his soul rest in perfect peace. A poem in his honour is here. If you could spare a few minutes, I should be grateful for a read. Thank you.

Aqua Madness

I told her that water is precious in my village; that we have to walk for miles and miles on end just looking for a clean stream to fetch water. Since the drought most of the water bodies in the village had dried up and the one or two that remained bubbly and flowing were polluted with dead livestock.

Sometimes after going days without any we had no option but to fetch the putrid water from the streams and boil for consumption.

My White and lovely girlfriend, Aqua Marie, stared at me as if I was mad. Of course, I was.

To see what the rest of the Fictioneers are up to, do click on the little linky below. Thanks!

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Reflections From The Heart – Rest In Peace, Mr. President

25 Wednesday Jul 2012

Posted by readinpleasure in Events, Non-Fiction, Poetry

≈ 37 Comments

Tags

Ghana, President, Prof. John Evans Ata Mills, RIP, Shocking Death

The heavens themselves
blaze forth the death of a Prince –   Julius Caeser, (William Shakespeare)
 

On Tuesday 24th July 2012, the President of the Republic of Ghana, Prof John Evans Ata Mills died suddenly, sending the whole country into shock and mourning. The following words poured forth from my heart in deep reflection, pain and sorrow.

Rest In Peace, Mr. President
 
Yesterday,
bloody and black
Tuesday.
The gloom
that settled
in our hearts,
too opaque
for us to see
the foreboding
tidings
that swooped
on us,
the force a
cascading
avalanche
of volcanic
magnitude.
 
Total eclipse
of our hearts
as our minds
could not grasp
the full meaning
of the dreadful news.
 
A bloody Tuesday
for our eyes
are red
and the tears
streaming down
our faces
are tears of blood,
pooling into
the blackness
and dryness
of our mouths.
we have
no appetite
for fufu.
 
Our President is no more,
Like a mighty oak
that fell
victim to the
volcanic eruption,
you fell with
a mighty boom,
the terrible roar
equaled only
by the
subsequent terrible
din of silence
 
Our President is no more.
Legal luminary,
doyen of academia,
astute statesman,
noble President,
child of our motherland,
a man
after God’s own heart.
You brought
a new meaning
to the word humility,
you served us
and demanded
not to be served.
 
Passion took on
a different cloth
under your presidency.
your compassion
was par none.
dedication to duty
and to your people
saw you out-stretching 
your limits,
even while the
dreaded C ravaged
Your noble self
 
Mr. President is no more.
You have
left us
forlorn,
bare
at the mercy
of the cruel
vicissitudes
of life.
 
And as
we reel
rave
rant
flail
and wail
we can only
boo
shame
the grey
faced phantom
For in death
You are
The Conqueror
 
Rest in Peace
Prof. John Evans Ata Mills
Rest in Peace
Mr. President
 
(C) Celestine Nudanu
24/07/12
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Short Story Tuesday – (Review) The Miracle by Ba’Bila Mutia

24 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by readinpleasure in Fiction, Short Stories

≈ 18 Comments

Tags

Anthology of Contemporary African Short Stories, Cameroon, Christianity, Physically Challenged

The Miracle by Cameroonian born Ba’Bila Mutia is the third short story from the Anthology of Contemporary African Short Stories (edited by Chinua Achebe and C L Innes) to be reviewed.

In the Miracle, the issue of opposing and different faith is given prominence by a couple whose only son, Ba’mia, is born with a deformed left leg. The mother, Manyi a Christian who has embraced the Catholic religion, believes strongly in the power of a miracle to cure her son’s leg.

“God has a purpose for him. He belongs to the church. The Holy father arrives from Rome this week. He is celebrating the Easter mass in Mende. This is a chance for Ba’mia to receive a cure.”

On the other side is her husband, Gwan-Fumbat, the epitome and custodian of the traditional beliefs of the people. Gwan-Fumbat believes in re-incarnation and knows that his son Ba’mia who was conceived six months after the death of his own father, is actually the old man who has come back to life, especially so when it is detected that the baby has inherited his grandfather’s withered left leg. When the visiting medical doctor confirms that the left leg was just a tiny bone and dead tissue, Gwan-Fumbat would want his wife and indeed his son to accept the deformity and play his traditional and divine role in the family as ordained. To Gwan-Fumbat, his son is not deformed and so does not need a cure.

“He does not need a cure, ……….he is not suffering form a disease. He was born that way and it is our responsibility to help him accept his condition…….Ba’mia’s condition is his personal load he carries from the world of our ancestors……He is a reincarnation of his grandfather. My father too had the same disability.” P 170

The author Ba’Bila Mutia uses this seemingly ordinary domestic disagreement over faith and beliefs to explore the delicate balance between Christianity and traditional religion in a modern world. In a country or society where both religions are practiced by the people, how does one walk the road of faith without antagonizing the other? How prudent is it to place one’s faith in a new and foreign religion, while discarding the norms and beliefs of one’s people? The author also seem to explore faith healing and seem to question the fairness in placing one’s faith in another human being to heal. The following moving dialogue says it all:

‘The Pope laid his right hand on the boy’s head and smiled. ‘What’s your name?’

‘Ba’mia’ the boy barely whispered. He was trying to stop his body from the sudden chills of trembling that had seized him. He coughed and cleared his throat. ‘I want you to make me walk upright……….”

‘I will pray for you…..’ the Pope began

‘But….but’ the boy stammered in a faltering voice. ‘My mother said you are here for God. You speak with him. She said you’ll make me walk erect.’

‘I speak for God,’ the Pope said.  ‘I am only his voice, his messenger’

‘Tell God to make me walk properly. I want to walk like other children. Help me with a miracle.

“You are God’s miracle, a miracle of His love and creation.” P 175

I was sad when I read The Miracle; I actually wanted Ba’mia to have a cure or be healed so that his desire to be like any normal child would be realised, at least. I felt his disappointment too, though I knew that his mother’s wishes born out of her desire to see her son whole, may not be realistic. However, what I found endearing about the story is the fact that Ba’mia is accepted and loved by his family, despite his handicap. African societies must love the physically challenged, as God’s creation. Society must learn to accept and nurture them to realise their full potential. It seemed Gwan-Fumbat was vindicated in the end.

The language is also simple and the narration is straightforward. An enjoyable 14-page story that I would love to recommend for one’s reading relaxation. Indeed, reading the whole anthology would be a fine way of understanding different African cultures, and what makes the African tick over here.

About the Author: Mutia Ba’Bila was born in Victoria (now Limbe) Cameroon and he teaches African and Modern British Literature at the Ecole Normale Superieure, University of Yaounde. His work has been broadcast on the BBC.

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Poet At Play – Poisoned Love

23 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by readinpleasure in Fiction, Poetry

≈ 18 Comments

Tags

False Love, Poison

Poison Love
 
She smiles
Through
Her teeth
False woman
Her eyes
Are daggers
Piercing
Where it hurts
The most.
 
She
Charms me
Superficial beauty
Coated pancake
The cracks
Visible only
To my
Discerning eye
Her bloated
Body
sensuous
Corruption
Pregnant
voluptuousness
Attracts me
 
I see
Through her
I have
The priviledge
Of seeing
Through
Her perfect
Layers of
Lavender
Powder
Saccharine
Sweetness
 
I am
Like her
Phony
Maleness
Hard crust
And yet
Butter
Softness
My core
Her bile
Seeped
Into me
She melted
My soul
 
(C) Celestine Nudanu
23/07/12
5.555717 -0.196306

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Poet At Play – Mad For Your Love

19 Thursday Jul 2012

Posted by readinpleasure in Fiction, Poetry

≈ 20 Comments

Tags

Mad For Your Love, romance

Mad For Your Love
 
I am weak
With my need
I am dizzy
For Your kisses
I am crazy
For your touch
I am hungry
For your warmth
 
Make me strong
So I can
Have my fill
Of you
I want to
See straight
So I can
Kiss you back
My lips
Pliant, waiting
 
Make me
Sane
In wanting you
I seem
To have
Gone mad
And drunk
With your
Love
I am sated.
And whole
 
(C) Celestine Nudanu
19/07/12
 
 
 
 
 
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Poet At Play – Jaded

18 Wednesday Jul 2012

Posted by readinpleasure in Fiction, Poetry

≈ 24 Comments

Tags

Arteries, Innocence, Jaded Love, romance

Jaded
 
Inside my heart
A piano
Plays for you
The song
Of my youth
Inside my heart,
A hymn is sung
To you
Of my dreams
My love
Desire
You viewed
Through a mirror
Of thorns.
 
For you heard
The tunes
Of my soul
Tasted the love
From my arteries
 
Yet you trampled
Upon my joy
In giving you
Sweet melodies.
You made mockery
Of my lyrics
You chose
To hear the dirge
That never escaped
My lips
They were never
In my heart.
 
You heard
The discordant
Rhythm,
A clanging cymbal
Of cacophonous notes
Crushing
Your eardrums
Its weight
Jarring
 
You trampled
On my love
My innocence.
Now
I am thorn
Bleeding 
Jaded.
The wiser.
 
(C) Celestine Nudanu
18/07/12
5.555717 -0.196306

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Short Story Tuesday – (Review) The Housegirl by Okey Chigbo

17 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by readinpleasure in Fiction, Short Stories, TBR List

≈ 27 Comments

Tags

Lagos, The Housegirl

The Housegirl by  Nigerian Okey Chigbo is another short story from the Anthology of Contemporary African Short Stories edited by Chinua Achebe and C L Innes.

The Housegirl is an enjoyable 16 page expose of the happenings in the lives of the individual members of a wealthy Nigerian family. The story is told through sixteen- year-old Comfort, the Senior housegirl whose caustic, frank and sometimes hilarious narration reveals the inequalities inherent in the strata of society. Comfort’s mistress whom she calls Madam, refuses to pay her monthly wages.  The amount, 10 Naira, is paid to Comfort’s father at the end of very month and she gets 3 Naira from her father who keeps the rest. This has been stopped for two years after Comfort’s father’s death. The mistress also discriminates against Comfort even when it comes to sharing of gifts and items.

“…….Did I tell you that madam has returned from Lagos? You should see the things she brought back. She gave Obiageli a beautiful gown  with enough wonderful colours to shame all the pretty flowers in the vilalge…..As usal, there was nothing for me. You know how it goes. Selina gets everything just because she is from madame’s hometown. My seniority as a number one housegirl does not mean anything. to madam.” P 1489

Comfort however, approaches her work with enthusiasm, preparing the meals with great skill. Master often asks for her delicious egusi soup (P 149). Occasionally, she lords it over the younger housegirls who are her mistress’ favourites.

The Housegirl is not your ordinary story of a girl forced through circumstances to be a housegril in a rich home where she is maltreated. The story of Comfort is not a sop story. The story of Comfort is only a microcosm of a macrocosm. Through her gossipy yet dignified narratives which is reflected by short episodic sentences, the reader is made aware of the selfishness of man towards his fellow-man. The bane of African governments, nepotism is also highlighted when madam only gives gifts to the housegirls from her hometown. In the larger macroscopic world, posh government and political positions are given out based on tribal and ‘old boy’ sentiments. Through Comfort, the reader is again made to confront salient issues like economic exploitation of the poor; adultery; (Master fathers a child outside his marriage) irresponsible behaviour of the youth; (the philandering of the only son of the family, Callistus, who drops out of school and makes one of the housegirls pregnant); greed and avariciousness of society that has milked out human kindness.

“Madam on the other hand resembles a dry fish we use to make soup…..she is getting thinner everyday despite her succesful business because her wooden heart  is sucking out all the kindness in her  body. (p 154)

I will recommend this short story and indeed, the whole Anthology of Contemporary African Short Stories for lovers of African literature.

About the Author: Born in Enugu Nigeria in 1955, Chigbo Okey attended secondary school in that city. He moved to Canada in 1976 and gained a BA in Economics from Simon Fraser University, Vancouver. His articles have been published in West Africa, New African, African Events, Class, Black Enterprise and The Business Journal.

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Poet At Play – Sleep No More

16 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by readinpleasure in Fiction, Poetry

≈ 24 Comments

Tags

Lady Macbeth, Muse, Sleep No More

Sleep No More
 
It is late in the night,
So late
The dead silence
Soothes my eyelids
Luring me
To shut them
And succumb
To the sweetness
Of sleep.
 
And why not? 
My dear one
Already yields
To the lull
Of the night
His gentle snores
Mingle
With the child-like
Imitation
Of our boys,
The two sounds
Blending
A discordant
Music
Creating
The only whispers
Of the night.
 
Behind my computer
I give  birth
And ignore
The cold place
By his side
Rightfully mine
I ignore
The look
Before he drifts off,
Hot or cold
Or both
I choose not
To see
Nor know
 
And I resist
Sleep,
For my muse
Has murdered
My sleep.
I am no
Lady Macbeth
But  I shall
Sleep no more
Till I have
Scribbled
And released
My muse
 
(C) Celestine Nudanu
15/07/12
5.555717 -0.196306

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#FridayFictioneers – Spectators

13 Friday Jul 2012

Posted by readinpleasure in Fiction, Friday Fictioneers

≈ 74 Comments

Tags

Ghoulish Spectators

Last week I could not take part in the Friday Fictioneers as I was so busy going up and down. This week, I just took a look at the photo prompt from Madison Woods and started to offer my take straight from the head without any thought to the form or plot of the 100 words. I do hope it meets expectations. Critiques are welcome please.

Spectators

They came with unnatural speed to feed on the carcass that was her still form. Like buzzards, they circled round her, their nostrils flared up in ghoulish wonder at the sight that met their eyes.

Even in death, she allowed them to stare at her, in all her morbid glory. Her beautiful naked body, once irresistible to an adoring community of men now glistened in the eerie moonlight by the riverside, its wasted angles a reminder to them of what she had once been to them all. How they had yearned for her. Now, in death she was all theirs.

To see what the rest of the Fictioneers are up to, do click on the little linky below. Thanks!



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