Wizard of the Crow

Ngugi wa'Thiong'o

The "Free Republic of Aburiria" is a country in Africa under siege by its own people. For the Aburirian citizens every day is a struggle is a struggle to survive. It is also a struggle to follow His High Mighty Excellency, the Ruler. The Christian church exerts its own theologies and expects the citizens to follow its preaching. A group of citizens, the Voice of the People, who resist the Ruler and his laws. The Wizard of the Crow is an ancient type sorcerer who teaches healing within one's self. Then there is the Global Bank - the hoped for source of more income in Aburiria. Which ideology is a person to follow?

It depends on which will benefit him. Aburiria has gone beyond colonialism and is now a dictator ruled "republic". The Ruler IS Aburiria so the citizens must be devoted and loyal to him. No one can question him, even his own wife. The sycophants around him bow and scrape as he expects. Meanwhile, when away from his presence, they are plotting their own schemes. Even disruptions from the Voice of the People, the Wizard of the Crow, or the lack of funds being released by the Global Bank are turned to benefit each schemer and plotter.

The satire and humor in this dense novel keeps the reader returning to find out what happens next. This is not my normal type of read, yet I'm glad I picked it up. Kenyan exile Ngugi wa'Thiong'o has a good eye and sharp tongue in portraying this fictional country that could easily rest in the continent of Africa. He is able to look at it from the inside and outside having lived in both cultures. By the end the reader is forced to understand (yet again) that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

There is a scene early in the book that shows the insight of Ngugi wa'Thiong'o . The Ruler is hosting a gala night for the representatives of the Global Bank to show them the new scheme for investing money into Aburiria. At the same time, the beggars are outside the building near the entrance trying to get money to survive. The news reporters are busily snapping pictures of the dignitaries as they arrive. But, to quote the book, "Some started training their cameras on the beggars with their crutches and deformities. The foreign journalists were particularly interested in the scene, for they believed that a news story from Africa without pictures of people dying from wretched poverty, famine, or ethnic warfare could not possibly be interesting to their audience back home." How many new stories do we see about Africa in the United States that lack some of those elements?

Wizard of the Crow isn't an easy book to read - it's long and dense. Yet it's sense of humor throughout the satire prevents it from being a gloomy book. It keeps enough of a light touch - wait until you read how one prisoner takes over the jail in order to get an audience with someone in charge - to maintain my interest. Ngugi wa'Thiong'o isn't subtle - be prepared to be hit over the head with his political eye. Also be prepared to keep coming back for more.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe