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Cargando... Foreign Gods, Inc.por Okey Ndibe
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Inscríbete en LibraryThing para averiguar si este libro te gustará. Actualmente no hay Conversaciones sobre este libro. A strangely tedious tale. Finished only because I don't like to give up on books unless they're truly terrible, and I hoped the satire impression of the first few chapters would come back... but nope. ( ) Ndibe non era l’ultimo arrivato, ma questo romanzo lo consacra di sicuro tra i grandi nomi della letteratura nigeriana. Il lettore parteggia fin da subito per Ike, tassista a New York sempre alle prese con le bollette, passaporto statunitense e una prestigiosa laurea in economia che però non gli consentono di entrare nel mondo della finanza a causa del suo terrificante accento. Idea! Fare un salto a casa, nel suo mondo igbo, e trafugare la statua di un potente dio: un oggetto come quello dovrà fruttare bene, in America. Evitiamo lo spoiler, ma possiamo dire che la trama è occasione di una lettura ora scanzonata ora drammatica della doppia realtà di Ike: americana e nigeriana. Senza sconti a nessuno. 3.5 out of 5. Ultimately, this book is something less than the sum of its parts – excellent though those parts may be. Ndibe has a sharp eye for the realities on the ground both in Nigeria and in the States – but there are two different types of story here and neither of them fully commands the tale at hand. As a result, I found myself just sort of shrugging the book away as I finished it, despite it having started off so strong. Originally found at TNBBC: http://thenextbestbookblog.blogspot.com/2014/01/drew-reviews-foreign-gods-inc.ht... and RB: http://ragingbiblioholism.com/2014/01/02/foreign-gods-inc/ A young Nigerian with a degree in economics goes to the US to pursue the American dream, which he soon realizes is actually a myth, as his job hunting efforts prove fruitless and he ends up driving a cab, and unwisely hooks up with a greedy, demanding American woman. He gets the idea of going back to Nigeria to steal and eventually sell his home village's deity. Once back in his village, we are presented with a vivid portrayal of colorful characters and conflicting beliefs that inevitably arise due to the cross-cultural confusion that globalization has wrought. Even the hapless 'hero', Ike, is a castaway in his own nebulous existence stripped of cultural identity. Although many readers found Ike unlikable, he gained my sympathy despite his narrow relentless pursuit of financial success and other character flaws, even as he is overwhelmed by the futility of his own efforts. While the novel is actually a serious commentary on how the new culture of materialism has overshadowed traditional values, as well as a scathing critique of a corruption in Nigeria, it is made utterly enjoyable by a keen drollness that is wrapped in the unique wit of a distinctly West African flavor.
The wooden deity "has character, an audacious personality," says one non-African who sees it. So does Ndibe's novel, a page-turning allegory about the globalized world. In "Foreign Gods Inc.," Ndibe links Manhattan to a village in Africa and shows just how great the distance between them really is. Foreign Gods, Inc is a morality tale for our time. The planned theft makes perfect sense on a continent where diamonds, coltan and oil are routinely extracted and shipped away, with no real concern for the local custodians of the land. One almost hopes Ike will succeed – if the big men are "eating", perhaps it is his turn now. Distinciones
Fiction.
Literature.
Thriller.
HTML: From a disciple of the late Chinua Achebe comes a masterful and universally acclaimed novel that is at once a taut, literary thriller and an indictment of greed's power to subsume all things, including the sacred. No se han encontrado descripciones de biblioteca. |
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Google Books — Cargando... GénerosSistema Decimal Melvil (DDC)823.92Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 2000-Clasificación de la Biblioteca del CongresoValoraciónPromedio:
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