The Radiance of the King

Posted on 01 September 2017 by Camara Laye

At the beginning of this masterpiece of African literature, Clarence, a white man, has been shipwrecked on the coast of Africa Flush with self importance, he demands to see the king, but the king has just left for the south of his realm Traveling through an increasingly phantasmagoric landscape in the company of a beggar and two roguish boys, Clarence is gradually stripped of his pretensions, until he is sold to the royal harem as a slave But in the end Clarence s bewildering journey is the occasion of a revelation, as he discovers the image, both shameful and beautiful, of his own humanity in the alien splendor of the king.Camara Laye published his first novel in 1953, the autobiographical L Enfant noir The African Child, also published under the title The Dark Child It follows his own journey from childhood in Kouroussa, his education in Conakry, and eventual departure for France The book won the Prix Charles Veillon in 1954 L Enfant noir was followed the next year by Le Regard du roi The Radiance of the King. Best Download [ The Radiance of the King ] Author [ Camara Laye ] For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr Kafka plus Conrad turned upside down in Africa Yes Camara re writes the Heart of Darkness as if it were a Kafkan parable, and, because that wasn t enough, writes from the close third POV of a white man, whose perceptions are entirely untrustworthy But this is no grand existential statement about subjectivism and so on The point is quite clear, and quite terrifying for the white reader Clarence is simply incapable of experiencing or understanding the unnamed West African country he finds h Kafka plus Conrad turned upside down in Africa Yes Camara re writes the Heart of Darkness as if it were a Kafkan parable, and, because that wasn t enough, writes from the close third POV of a white man, whose perceptions are entirely untrustworthy But this is no grand existential statement about subjectivism and so on The point is quite clear, and quite terrifying for the white reader Clarence is simply incapable of experiencing or understanding the unnamed West ...3.5 5 You see what I mean by luck, and what others mean when they talk of meritI m giving this a mere three on the star scale as an urgent reminder to someday come back to it in a farequipped fashion Said equipage so far consists of the concrete form of Toni Morrison s introduction to an edition of this work other than my own, along with some vague handwavey aspirations at a far greater amount of so generalized African literature under my belt What I didn t get I lost, what I did 3.5 5 You see what I mean by luck, and what others mean when they talk of meritI m giving this a mere three on the star scale as an urgent reminder to someday come back to it in a farequipped fashion Said equipage so far consists of the concrete form of Toni Morrison s introduction to an edition of this work other than my own, along with some vague handwavey aspirations at a far greater amount of so generalized African literature under my belt What I didn t get I lost, what I did get I don t trust, and what appealed or disagreed or was just really really weird all came out of a context that I have minimal experience with, if any at all One could call it a cop out if time was merely a string of frozen ahistorical instances, but alas It s not His eye, it seemed, might have been turned inward or might have been contemplating his own person And where could such an eye have found a...To all my literary loving friends, this is some good stuff So much to interpret and move through It ll keep you busy as you evaluate so many of the scenes and how the writer some believe it wasn t really Laye executes the imaginary voyage novel It s a funnier version of Kafka s The Castle and a less aggressive but that s debatable Conrad s Heart of Darkness and a little something all its own The ...Hard not to recommend this Part Waiting for Godot, part Candide, and part Heart of Darkness Mix well A very flowing book with lots to say about expectation, hope, and self.I can t think of anything to say about The Radiance of the King that wasn t covered by Toni Morrison in her outstanding introduction to this edition of the book, found here highlights from her intro Literary Africa outside, notably, of the work of some white South African writers was an inexhaustible playground for tourists and foreigners Accommodatingly mute, conveniently blank, Africa could be made to serve a wid I can t think of anything to say about The Radiance of the King that wasn t covered by Toni Morrison in her outstanding introduction to this edition of the book, found here highlights from her in...2.5 rounded down.I read this for a book club s journey to Guinea There s a lot of praise surrounding this book, unfortunately this is the type of book that is too complex for me to understand The afterword made me appreciate itespecially the aspects how Western values are difficult to apply in foreign environments However, while I was reading this book, I was often too confused about what was going on It felt too surrealist and many symbols were unknown to me Even though the ending 2.5 rounded down.I read this for a book club s journey to Guinea There s a lot of praise surrounding this book, unfortunately this is the type of book that is too complex for me to understand The afterword made me appreciate itespecially the aspects how Western values are difficult to apply in foreign environments However, while I was reading this book, I was often too confused about what was going on It felt too surrealist and many symbols were unknown to me Even though the ending of the book was exceptional, the first two thirds of the book were difficult to go through The protagonist Clarence, is a white man who suddenly finds himself alone in the middle of Africa He wants to meet the king, but that is difficult to arrange of course He joins two young boys and a beggar and they wander around the land and forest Unbeknownst to Clarence...I don t know how to rate this book yet because i m not sure i really understood it some scenes were rather befuddling and i had trouble concentrating but generally speaking, the language was amazing, especially the dialogue I especially enjoyed the boys, Nagoa and Noaga In some ways i wished the story had beenabout them than Clarence At first i enjoyed Clarence, but the farther along i got, thehis arrogance began to grate I was hoping to have a better understanding of what ex I don t know how to rate this book yet because i m not sure i really understood it some scenes were rather befuddling and i had trouble concentrating but generally speaking, the language was amazing, especially the dialogue I especially enjoyed the boys, Nagoa and Noaga In some ways... The Radiance of the King is a book so radiant that it will surely overwhelm all books that come after it I ve learned that one cannot possess a book anythan one can possess a moment, for the rereading would always be a different book a different experience 6 stars.Pretty preposterous giving this book three starts just because I didn t get it I thought it would never end, this dream goes on and on The main character Clarence falls asleep standing up and never seems to know what s going on I like the reviews that call it Kafka esque I don t get him either I wish I had read The Radiance of the King in a class because every line seems to mean something heavy But what I read and re read Toni Morrison s introduction Personally, I think she s on the Pretty preposterous giving this book three starts just because I didn t get it I thought it would never end, this dream goes on and on The main character Clarence falls asleep standing up and neve...The only thing I can truly say about this book was that it was extremely strange I know it was supposed to have displayed aspects of postmodernism and post colonialism, but I found it unrealistic It wasn t moving at all, nor was it in my opinion eye opening whatsoever I completely understand what Laye was trying to accomplish, but the writing left me underwhelmed If the plot, characters, and writing had beendeveloped, this could have been an outstanding novel However, there is a rea The only thing I can truly say about this book was that it was extremely strange I know it was supposed to have displayed aspects of postmodernism and post colonialism, but I found it unrealistic It wasn t moving at all, nor was it in my opinion eye opening whatsoever I completely understand what Laye was trying to accomplish, but the writing left me underwhelmed If the plot, characters, and wri...

English
01 September 2017

Camara Laye