The Cambridge Companion to the African Novel (Cambridge Companions to Literature)

Africa's strong tradition of storytelling has long been an expression of an oral narrative culture. African writers such as Amos Tutuola, Naguib Mahfouz, Wole Soyinka and J. M. Coetzee have adapted these older forms to develop and enhance the genre of the novel, in a shift from the oral mode to print. Comprehensive in scope, these new essays cover the fiction in the European languages from North Africa and Africa south of the Sahara, as well as in Arabic. They highlight the themes and styles of the African novel through an examination of the works that have either attained canonical status – an entire chapter is devoted to the work of Chinua Achebe – or can be expected to do so. Including a guide to further reading and a chronology, this is the ideal starting-point for students of African and world literatures. Cover Page 1 The Cambridge Companion to the African Novel 2 Title Page 4 ISBN 9780521855600 5 CONTENTS 6 NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS 8 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 12 CHRONOLOGY 13 1 Introduction - perspectives on the African novel 24 2 The oral-literate interface 38 3 Chinua Achebe and the African novel 54 4 Protest and resistance 74 5 The Afrikaans novel 92 6 The African novel in Arabic 108 7 The francophone novel in North Africa 126 8 The francophone novel in sub-Saharan Africa 148 9 The African historical novel 164 10 Magical realism and the African novel 182 11 The African novel and the feminine condition 200 12 Autobiography and Bildungsroman in African literature 218 13 The postcolonial condition 232 14 New voices, emerging themes 250 15 The critical reception of the African novel 266 Bibliography 286 Supplementary Material 2 INDEX 295 9780521855600 This volume provides an overview of the key novels and novelists of the continent, covering multiple cultures and languages Edited By F. Abiola Irele. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 263-271) And Index.