Description
Book SynopsisAn overview of the Swahili novel, its place in a globalized world and a reflection on the status and dynamism of Kafka's concept of 'minor literature'. For more than fifty years a dynamic modern literature has been developing in the Kiswahili language. The political weight that Kiswahili carries as the emerging national and pan-national language of many East African countries places this literature, much of it in the form of novels, at the centre of heated literary debates on the social function of literature in the context of rapid global social change. Garnier provides new insights into the Swahili novel form with all its vibrancy and capacity for experimentation. Its obsession with social issues relates to larger, all-pervasive political debates running through East Africa: in its press, its streets, its public and private places. The novels both record and provoke these debates. Based on the study of more than 175 Swahili novels by almost 100 authors, Garnier brings to light a body of work much neglected by African literary critics, but which looks outwards to the wider world. Xavier Garnier teaches African Literature at the Université Paris 3 Sorbonne Nouvelle and is former director of the Centre d'Etudes des Nouveaux Espaces Littéraires, Université Paris 13.
Trade Review2015 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title * . *
Highly recommended. * CHOICE *
REVIEWS OF THE ORIGINAL FRENCH EDITION * . *
Full of inspiring ideas, fresh perspectives, and creative reflections of Swahili literary texts, Garnier's work is a highly valuable contribution to Swahili literary studies. Alena Rettova,Research in African Literatures * . *
Garnier's book brings new insights to the subject through his use of Kafka's concept of 'minor/small literatures' ...This book ...is a careful reflection, written in an elegant style, on the complex subject of the very connection between literature and society itself..a remarkable study. Josias Semujanga, Compte rendus, litteratures en langues africaines -- Josias Semujanga,
Compte rendus, litteratures en langues africaines...based on the study of ... 175 Swahili novels by almost 100 authors, representing a body of work much neglected by African literary critics but which deserves to be translated.- -- Anthony Mangeon
Table of ContentsIntroduction Narrating Values: Describing a World Shaaban Rober: The Optimism of Writing The Crisis of the Bildungsroman Euphrase Kezilahabi: An Initiatory Realism The Political Novel Mohamed Suleiman Mohamed: Narrating a Dual Reality Criminals & the Corrupted Investigations & Enigmas Said Ahmed Mohamed: The Dark Side of Images Conclusion
