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Werewere Liking

Författare till The Amputated Memory: A Song-Novel

12 verk 74 medlemmar 4 recensioner

Om författaren

Werewere Liking was born in Cameroon and now lives in the Ivory Coast, where she founded the world-renowned Ki-Yi Village for artists in Abidjan.

Inkluderar namnet: Werewere Liking,

Verk av Werewere Liking

Taggad

Allmänna fakta

Födelsedag
1950
Kön
female
Nationalitet
Cameroon
Bostadsorter
Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire

Medlemmar

Recensioner

Review: The Amputated Memory by Werewere Liking. 03/06/2019

I have to say Liking‘s story is unique. It was a slow pace read but I’m glad I stuck to finishing it. I felt the the book is worth reading. It brings to life Liking’s African childhood and how she states how relatives and friends stuck with her through challenging turmoil. It was interesting to read her dynamics change as she moved form rural areas to an urban area. I thought there were a lot of feminism aspects as insightful of the lives of African women. Liking is a great writer, her work is understandable, and I enjoyed the poetic pieces she embedded within the story.

Liking’s autobiographical story started with a young girl named Halla growing up in Cameroon in the 50’s. The story is balanced very well, she deals with how education is vital, (Liking only had three years of schooling) and how having a voice, opinion, insight helps oneself to achieve true freedom. Halla Njoke’ recalls childhood traumas and she rebuilds forgotten experiences to create who she is now.

As Likings memories proceeds and shows her struggles for independence. The major issue is hoe Halla’s philandering father who had raped her at an early age and later tries to marry her off to a much older man. Her father’s involvement with the white settler leaders didn’t help supporting the local resistance. At some time she was able to move to the city and work as a singer in nightclubs. Liking had plenty to materialize in her past memories to write this book.
… (mer)
 
Flaggad
Juan-banjo | 3 andra recensioner | Mar 14, 2019 |
Liking has had a very interesting life, as I learned from the book’s afterward. She was born in South Central Cameroon in 1950 and initiated into the ancestral traditions of the Bassa by her paternal grandparents Her grandparents, apparently recognizing her extraordinary spirit brought her into secret societies normally reserved for males.
Her birth year was also a beginning for the Nationalist movements in the Cameroon and these movements shaped her life and work. Apparently, her father sided with the French during this period, which caused a lot of conflict in the community.
Liking has not been completely forthcoming on biographical details, but she had about three years of elementary education, was removed from school by her father, married at 12 and had given birth to a daughter before her 13th birthday. She became a singer in Doula nightclubs at 16, remarried, had a son, a successful music career, began to pain, worked as a journalist and researched oral traditions and traditional theater techniques. Her first book of poetry was published in Paris in 1977.
Liking’s career is unique. Most published African writers have had the advantages and disadvantages of European higher education. Liking had no formal higher education and did not even set foot in Europe until she was well into her 20s.
Liking left the Cameroon for the Ivory Coast in 1978 for political reasons and began to teach and train at the University level in traditional African theater. In 1985 she left the university setting to focus on the Village of Ki-Yi – a pan-African arts collective.
This novel is mostly autobiographical and focuses on the author’s early years. As one can tell from the title, memory, whether reliable or unreliable, is a major focus of the book. The afterword quotes Liking as saying:

“A memory marks us more than the act itself. The act is not what’s important, it’s the remaining trace of the event that is…As for me [to write this novel] I went about digging deep into my memory. And what I found in my head [was] very, very violent. But as I say, no one lives the same thing in the same way. Other family members do not have the same recollections that I do, although we experienced a certain number of these events together. What becomes obvious to me is that Africa has a suppressed memory. Why is there so much silence in Africa? If African women started remembering all of the violence they’ve experienced, well, it would set of an explosion. Is this really a good thing? I’m not so sure. I believe that one succeeds in killing the even through silence, and perhaps in our case it’s for the better.”

Liking is obviously a superbly intelligent, creative and original individual. I felt lucky to be able to read this book, and to experience the world from the viewpoint of someone who was raised with a world view so different than my own.

As for the book itself, it’s difficult for me to know how to criticize it. Overall, I liked the book and found it uplifting and readable. Although full of difficult events, our heroine always remains active and positive, committed to creativity and art; and to bringing these values to children.

There were some aspects of the novel that I did not like, and I wonder if perhaps those were indicative of a more African viewpoint and style.

The book is told in a combination of poetry and prose. I think that this is an attempt to combine traditional African poetry into a novel framework. For me, I usually skip the poetry in novels (that’s what got me through [Lord of the Rings]. Here, I did try to read the poetry, and found it mostly kind of didactic and uninspiring. Here is an example:

“Naja, my mother, thank you for my life;
And Grandmother, thank you for my education above all,
For without education a person is nothing, a void.
Humans are not born divine or even human;
They grow into it, achieving it by choosing to transform.
Achieving it primarily because of education.
What is the mystery, then? Enormous work;
The very mystery of the divine is work”

I also had a problem with Liking’s writing becoming digressive and preachy. Here is an example:

“Unfortunately, for most of us work is contradictory to pleasure. I thank God that he granted me the good fortune to weave the two together. A slave cannot make that connection. My namesake, Grand Madja Halla, always told me, “You, you’ll always know whether you are free or not as long as you’re able to link work and pleasure.”

The didactic bits do raise some interesting thoughts, but for me, I would rather have the story itself point to the moral.

Another critique I have, is how often the book seemed to be self-inflating. The narrator, our author, is presented as amazing, kind, giving, creative, etc. I felt like a little humility wouldn’t have hurt. On the other hand, the author does frequently give props to the people who helped her along the way. There are many throughout the book, the chief among them Auntie Roz. In the beginning of the book she describes Auntie Roz:

“Every day she rises between four and five in the morning to visit the inmates in Laguna’s large jail, as big as a whole city neighborhood. Working as a volunteer, she prays for and with them, runs errands for the imprisoned pregnant mothers, and helps their children. She walks miles and miles just to go back and forth. In the afternoon she visits those who are confined to hospitals. And still she finds time to remember birthdays, prepare cookies made with peanuts or cucumber seeds, and bring us her good wishes, as old as we are! All of it in complete serenity. I wanted to pay tribute to her.”

In the end, this is a very worthwhile book. It brings to life Liking’s African childhood, the relatives and friends who supported her throughout many difficult times, and pays tribute, especially, to African women.
… (mer)
½
1 rösta
Flaggad
banjo123 | 3 andra recensioner | Jul 17, 2013 |
Een West-Afrikaanse vrouw vertelt van haar moeilijke tocht door het leven als vrouw in het Kameroen van de jaren 60
 
Flaggad
huizenga | 3 andra recensioner | Apr 25, 2010 |
As an elderly woman, Halla, wishes to write about her Aunt Roz's life. However her aunt insists that she first look at her own past. In a chronological order, Halla recounts her oppressed memories (note the title). A lyrical account of her life and the women around her. My favorite character was her namesake, her grandmother. A very strong woman who Halla looked up to. Equally my favorite was her grandfather. They're role in her life was very endearing and gave her love and guidance when others treated her awfully.

It was interesting to watch the dynamics change as she moved from rural areas of the country to an urban area. It has feminism undertones and insightful of the experiences of women in Africa. I enjoyed this book very much.
… (mer)
1 rösta
Flaggad
rmostman | 3 andra recensioner | Aug 11, 2009 |

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Statistik

Verk
12
Medlemmar
74
Popularitet
#238,154
Betyg
4.0
Recensioner
4
ISBN
14
Språk
2

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