Ghana Must Go

Kweku Sai is dead A renowned surgeon and failed husband, he succumbs suddenly at dawn outside his home in suburban Accra The news of Kweku s death sends a ripple around the world, bringing together the family he abandoned years before Ghana Must Go is their story Electric, exhilarating, beautifully crafted, Ghana Must Go is a testament to the transformative power of unconditional love, from a debut novelist of extraordinary talent Moving with great elegance through time and place, Ghana Must Go charts the Sais circuitous journey to one another In the wake of Kweku s death, his children gather in Ghana at their enigmatic mother s new home The eldest son and his wife the mysterious, beautiful twins the baby sister, now a young woman each carries secrets of his own What is revealed in their coming together is the story of how they came apart the hearts broken, the lies told, the crimes committed in the name of love Splintered, alone, each navigates his pain, believing that what has been lost can never be recovered until, in Ghana, a new way forward, a new family, begins to emerge Ghana Must Go is at once a portrait of a modern family, and an exploration of the importance of where we come from to who we are In a sweeping narrative that takes us from Accra to Lagos to London to New York, Ghana Must Go teaches that the truths we speak can heal the wounds we hide. Best Read Ghana Must Go [ author ] Taiye Selasi [ Kindle ePUB or eBook ] – kino-fada.fr Real talk, the first third or so of the book is a damn mess slow, not fully realized, kind of irritating because it could be better withediting, perhaps, orcare BUT The last 2 3 of the book is outstanding and electric If you are an immigrant or child of immigrants you will feel like this book knows you, down to your bones And you will know this book, down to its bones The prose style is original and as raw as it is poetic The narrative structure is also intriguing Selasi Real talk, the first third or so of the book is a damn mess slow, ...So what d you reckon, did you fall for the hype on this one Well, yes, to a certain extent I mean with over 100,000 new books being published each year in the UK alone, there s no way to escape the danger of being led down the marketing path really, is there I mean I read some reviews, but they ve all been blinded too, by the celebrity endorsements from Toni Morrison and Salman Rushdie, and they can hardly fail to be impressed by the appeal of a strikingly good looking young woman author, i So what d you reckon, did you fall for the hype on this one Well, yes, to a certain extent I mean with over 100,000 new books being published each year in the UK alone, there s no way to escape the danger of being led down the marketing path really, is there I mean I read some reviews, but they ve all been blinded too, by the celebrity endorsements from Toni Morrison and Salman Rushdie, and they can hardly fail to be impressed by the appeal of a strikingly good looking young woman author, it makes for an attractive opener on the front page of the review section, doesn t it So yes, once I d seen that amazing portrait of her on the front page of the literature supplement in Die Zeit, wearing a purple quilted coat that on anyone else would have reminded me of a dressing gown, and then read about her, yes, she got lodged in my mind as worth looking out for You re just influenced by her appearance How shallow I don t think I m entirely guiltless there...Then Ghana, and the smell of Ghana, a contradiction, a cracked clay pot the smell of dryness, wetness, both, the damp earth and dry of dust The airport Bodies pushing, pulling, shouting, begging, touching, breathing He d forgotten the bodies The proximity of bodies In America the bodies were distant The warmth of it Ghanaian doctor Kweku Sai loses his job in the US, abandons his Nigerian wife and his four children and moves back to Ghana Years later, when Sai dies from a heart attack, h Then Ghana, and the smell of Ghana, a contradiction, a cracked clay pot the smell of dryness, wetness, both, the damp earth and dry of dust The airport Bodies pushing, pulling, shouting, begging, touching, breathing He d forgotten the bodies The proximity of bodies In America the bodies were distant The...This is how a reader gets the distinct feeling of being ripped off when the publishers are obviously so keen to jump on the publicity bandwagon that they don t bother with a proof read at all How else would you explain the mis spelling of the main character s name in the blurb on the back All through the novel his name is Kweku Sai, the blurb has him Kwaku.Worse page 79 Until this very moment Kweku would have bet money that her younger son couldn t have said where he worked not the name of This is how a reader gets the distinct feeling of being ripped off when the publishers are obviously so keen to jump on the publicity bandwagon that they don t bother with a proof read at all How else would you explain the mis spelling of the main character s name in the blurb on the back All through the novel his name is Kweku Sai, the blurb has him Kwaku.Worse page 79 Until this very moment Kweku would have bet money that her younger son couldn t have said where he worked not the name of the hospital, one of several in the vicinity, nor the location of the entrance hall but here Kehinde was Kweku is the father of Kehinde, that s his son to my way of thinking.A minor gripe I suppose.I find it ...Philip Hensher encapsulated it in his Spectator review of the Granta Best Young British Novelists, of whom Selasi is one bog standard products of the American creative writing machine present tense narratives introducing western readers to exotic places, with a surface conventional lyricism and a glossary explaining how to pronounce Lagos.Those who don t share this jaded, cynical sense of a generic litfic creative writing course MFA style may takekindly to Ghana Must Go, a family sag Philip Hensher encapsulated it in his Spectator review of the Granta Best Young British Novelists, of whom Selasi is one bog standard products of the American creative writing machine present te...Much as I resisted it to start with, I ended up loving this beautiful novel about a complex African American family full of secrets, estrangements, and shifting alliances Despite their disparate settings, the storyline reminded me most of Maggie O Farrell s Instructions for a Heatwave.With its wise commentary on race and class in America, it also brought to mind one of my absolute favorites, On Beauty by Zadie Smith, whom I think Selasi is destined to join in the top rank of contemporary author Much as I resisted it to start with, I ended up loving this beautiful novel about a complex African American family full of secrets, estrangements, and shifting alliances Despite their disparate settings, the storyline reminded me most of Maggie O Farrell s Instructions for a Heatwave.With its wise commentary on race and class in America, it also brought to mind one of my absolute favorites, On Beauty by Zadie Smith, whom I think Selasi is destined to join in the top rank of contempor...About 10 years ago, I spent 3 4 months teaching English in a tiny Ghanaian village electricity only in two or three houses, no running water in the heart of the Ashanti region I realize that a this does not make me an expert on Ghana, and b is not a particularly unique experience however, it does mean that I have a very soft spot in my heart for Ghana After reading the blurb on this, and reading about the author s backstory after seeing her short story in last year s Best Ameri...It s not you, Taiye, it s me.I don t know why I feel like none of the characters have enough of a personality to seem human, despite being well stocked with anguished personal histories and appropriate mixes of generic and unique traits except Olu s Asian American wife Ling, who seems particularly ill served Her politely racist father, direct from central casting, is at least spared the indignity of being thought cute But...guys I literally like, actually, physically, inexplicably had to stop myself from taking a bite of this book My desire to devour it, to internalize it and at the same time, to curl up in it and be surrounded by it, was that strong So, Kweku, the father of four, brilliant surgeon, loving husband, and then none of those things, abandoning the roles without actually leaving them behind in his heart Sixteen years after he left Boston and his fami guys I literally like, actually, physically, inexplicably had to stop myself from taking a bite of this book My desire to devour it, to internalize it and at the same time, to curl up in it and be surrounded by it...If this novel was used in a word association game, my first words would be Zadie Smith s WHITE TEETH Both debut novels exhibit raw talent and beauty Both women handle serious topics such as race, class, gender, ambition, social status with tremendous ease Both novels, however, are incredibly overwritten, dripping with prose that should have been left on the cutting room floor I m thinking here of the description of Kweku s death and how Selasi goes in super slo mo to describe every detail of If this novel was used in a word association game, my first words would be Zadie Smith s WHITE TEETH Both debut novels exhibit raw talent and beauty Both women handle serious topics such as race, class, gender, ambi...

• English
• 05 November 2018
Taiye Selasi
• Hardcover
• 336 pages
• 1594204497
• Taiye Selasi
• Ghana Must Go