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Wizard of the Crow
 
 
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Wizard of the Crow (Paperback)

by Ngugi wa'Thiong'o (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
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From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. The fictional Republic of Aburiria chronicled in this sprawling, dazzling satirical fable is an exaggeration of sordid African despotism. At the top, a grandiose Ruler with "the power to declare any month in the year the seventh month" and his sycophantic cabinet plan to climb to heaven with a modern-day Tower of Babel funded by the Global Bank; beneath them, a cabal of venal officials and opportunistic businessmen jockey for a piece of the pie; at the bottom are the unemployed masses who wait in endless lines behind every help-wanted sign. Kamiti, an archetypal New Man with two university degrees and no job prospects, sets up shop as a wizard; with the help of Nyawira, member of both an underground dissident movement and a feminist dance troupe, he dispenses therapeutic sorcery to a citizenry that finds witchcraft less absurd than everyday life. Kenyan novelist Thiong'o (Petals of Blood) mounts a nuanced but caustic political and social satire of the corruption of African society, with a touch of magical realism—or, perhaps, realistic magic, as the wizard's tricks hinge on holding a not-so-enchanted mirror to his clients' hidden self-delusions. The result is a sometimes lurid, sometimes lyrical reflection on Africa's dysfunctions—and possibilities. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Magic realism drives this mammoth novel set in the imaginary African country of Aburiria, and exiled Kenyan writer wa Thiong'o roots the wild fantasy in the brutal horror of contemporary politics. His ridicule of the powerful knows no bounds as the novel chronicles greed and corruption in Aburiria and in the West, including the Global Bank's funding of the Aburirian ruler's Marching to Heaven Tower of Babel. But even more than the crazy plot of coup, countercoup, flattery, and betrayal, what holds the reader here is the intimate story of one couple. Quiet secretary Nyawira, secret leader of the people's resistance movement, persuades her intellectual lover, Kamiti, to give up his search for himself in the wild, and they embark on a plan to change the world, with Kamiti disguised as a sorcerer. Set off by the global farce, this unforgettable love story reveals the magic power of the ordinary in people and in politics. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Overlong, yet still interesting. . ., Sep 8 2007
By Patrick St-Denis (Laval, Quebec Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
I was really looking forward to reading this novel. Ngugi wa Thiong'o's aim with this sprawling satire was "to sum up Africa of the twentieth century in the context of two thousand years of world history." Though good, I felt that the execution fell a little flat throughout the book.

Set in the fictional African republic of Aburiria, in Wizard of the Crow the author "set out to explore human relationships against the backdrop of a rapidly globalizing world." Thiong'o, naturally, as an exiled Kenyan, has a long history of political activism.

Although a fictional nation, Aburiria is a satirical depiction of African despotism. A grandiose and grotesque Ruler dominates a corrupt and sycophantic cabinet of ministers, surrounded by venal officials and opportunistic businessmen, all jockeying for position. Part fable, part allegory, Wizard of the Crow is a magical realism parody of the political and social corruption rampant in many African countries. As such, the book represents Thiong'o's reflections on both Africa's numerous dysfunctions and, one can only hope, its myriad possibilities.

Weighin in at 766 pages, Wizard of the Crow is a work of titanic proportions. And its principal shortcoming is that the pace is at times atrociously slow. Which, in the end, killed this novel for me. Too many unnecessary POV characters make for an unbearably sluggish rhythm in several portions of this book. Indeed, I came very close to stop reading on more than one occasions. . . Even though some parts are quite interesting, others bored me out of my mind.

Sections of Wizard of the Crow appear to be undisguised attacks aimed at the dictatorship of Kenya's Daniel arap Moi. Which is not surprising, given the fact that the dictator's regime imprisoned the author in the 70s, banned some of his books, and then forced him into exile, first in Europe and then in the USA. I believe that, in order to fully appreciate/understand Wizard of the Crow, one needs to be familiar with world politics. Leftists will doubtless enjoy it more than their Right-wing counterparts, methinks.

Though Thiong'o is on the money more often than not, I did find some of his political "comments" to be a bit narrow on the ideological side. While I agree that international financial forces can be disruptive with their efforts to engender development (something this continent desperately needs), following decades of economic stagnation in so many African countries I found that the way he depicted market forces more than a little overdone. Given the author's past, tyranny and egomania are themes that Thiong'o explores through the Ruler and his entourage of sycophants.

Wizard of the Crow is an ambitious literary endeavor filled with great ideas. The humor, however, is more intellectual than funny. The political commentary is quite heavy-handed at times, yet that doesn't take too much away from the reading experience. It's the snail-slow pace which makes what could have been an excellent read merely a good one.
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5.0 out of 5 stars A crown jewel, Dec 16 2006
By Sancho Mahle (Charlotte, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Wizard of the Crow: A novel (Hardcover)
If Ngugi were to stop writing today, I would say THE WIZARD OF THE CROW crowmed his writing history as his masterpiece. The ideas in the book are broad-ranged and are brought out through characters that deep, alive and imposing. The Republic where the story is set can be any of the many Sub-Saharan countries that have been hijacked by people of the evil disposition (the local kleptocrats, blood-thirsty maniacs and their foreign backers).

WIZARD OF THE CROW says what other titles like Triple Agent Double Cross, The Beautiful Ones are not yet born, Disciples of Fortune, 1984; did not completely say. In short it brings African literature again to the spot light. I recently read The Usurper and Others, Half of a Yellow Sun. In short, there are beautiful African writings out there that are very insightful.
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