Ondjaki in the Times Literary Supplement

We're happy to report that rumour became reality this weekend, with a long-awaited-yet-gladly-received review running in Friday's Times Literary Supplement for Granma Nineteen and the Soviet's Secret. You won't be able to find it online, but here are the highlights:

"As with Ondjaki's other novels—including Bom dis camaradas (2001; Good Morning Comrades) and Os Transparentes (2012)—this is a strangely deceptive read. Although the narrative often feels rather whimsical, Angola's long history of colonialism and conflict, its various foreign allies and enemies, and the extraordinary suffering of its population, are menacingly present ... a brave and highly political work."

The piece—written by Lara Pawson, former BBC correspondent to Angola—also does a good job of providing an historical context for Ondjaki's novel, and it draws forward the aspects of it that linger deliberately in the background. Want to see the whole thing? Feel free to drop us an email, and we'll arrange for you to see it. 

10:18 No comments

Child Narrators and the Wonder-laced Universe of Ondjaki

How does one write about a period of political strife without falling prey to the ideological trappings of the time? What are the moral implications of writing an effervescent, light-hearted, colourful novel against the backdrop of civil war? And how would one go about 'dexploding' a giant rocket-shaped mausoleum built in honour of former Angolan president Agostinho Neto? For Luandan novelist Ondjaki, the solution to these questions lies in inhabiting the consciousness of the unnamed childhood narrator of Granma Nineteen and the Soviet's Secret, a larger-than-life, inquisitive, and sensitive youth on the brink of self-knowledge with an imagination that is nigh-synaesthesiac. 

M.A. Othofer discusses the many virtues of Ondjaki's child narrator and his wonder-laced universe in The Complete Review, highlighting how he unveils the extraordinary in the quotidian, and how the obliviousness of a child can lead to unique insights about political unrest. "This is, ultimately, a profound novel," writes Othofer, "perhaps a definitive one of collapsing Soviet power and influence in 1980s Africa."

We like to think of Ondjaki as mixing the picaresque tradition of Twain with the eccentric linguistic inventiveness of a Mia Couto or a Clarice Lispector. His novels are peculiar, resting in the very foreign gap between Young Adult and avant-garde fiction, and although he is occasionally characterized as having a kinship with magical realism, Ondjaki had some very interesting things to say on the matter of surrealism and conscious invention with CBC's Paul Kennedy:

Fiction doesn't happen to me, fiction happens in Angola and I happen to be there, and I happen to be born there. Among us, if you find another writer from Angola, you will not hear this comment, "oh that book of yours, what a powerful imagination," no; the question is, where did you see that?!

So one might say that Ondjaki considers himself a reporter from a forgotten realm, a reporter with the eye and soul of a child. And for those of you wondering at the difficulty of his task, the name Ondjaki means "he who faces challenges." In Granma Nineteen and the Soviet's Secret, Ondjaki rises to the occasion, shining a light on a utopic space within a world of disrepair.

"Is that what tales from before were like a long time ago?"

"Yes, son."

"So before is a time, Granma?"

"Before is a place."

"A place really far away?"

"A place really deep inside." 

14:25 No comments

Words & Curds: Evan Munday talks to Ondjaki

Ondjaki, seriously impressed by
 French Canadian Cuisine

Evan Munday, formerly of Coach House Books, has started up a quirky new interview series on Open Book Toronto, and weren't we just tickled when he approached us about talking to Ondjaki over poutine during his Granma Nineteen and the Soviet's Secret tour? Yep, sure were. Fair warning though, folks: this is an XXL-sized interview, not for the slender of waist. In both proportions and deliciousness it rivals the poutine that inspired it. Plus there are some fantastic stories in there about Ondjaki's childhood, the stories in Granma Nineteen that are real or partly real, life as a child in socialist Angola, and the niceties of Canadian bacon. Leia-o agora mesmo! 

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History and War in Angolan Literature

Ondjaki, the author of Biblioasis's second translation series title, Good Morning Comrades, is back in the U.S. this month on a tour of U.S. colleges and universities, and will be giving a talk at Stanford Monday March 12th, at 5:30 PM.

From the press announcement:

Beginning with historical facts, it is possible to find both political and literary bridges between reality and fiction in Angolan literature. This seminar will demonstrate an approach to historical occurances through some of the most significant figures in Angolan history. It begins with the commencement of the Armed Struggle in 1961, explores the later participation of Cuban troops in the consolidation of independence and finally considers the last period of the civil war, from 1992 – 2002. It is a brief journey though the history and literature of Angola.


For further information please go here.  

14:43 No comments