Dec 6, 2014

Ghana must go: first part

I wonder if you are having the same feeling. I had actually no idea what the book was about, but the title, the cover, somehow made me think that this was going to be a story of hope, progress, maybe adventure. And up to now, I was wrong. Ghana must go has so far presented some family stories, migration, but mostly loneliness and melancholy. So I'm disappointed, cause I wasn't expecting a drama, but at the same time, it is very well written, so well it hurts at times. I still have about two thirds to finish, so the story, maybe hasn't actually started, and it turns out to be what I was expecting, but this is a hard beginning.
There are two things that catch my attention, the relationship of the characters with their houses/ homes (the story with the carpenter and the tree), and the family relationships, so close and so remote. Thoughts?

3 comments:

  1. I barely started the book, but I am surprised too. I too didn't have a clue what the book was about, so I was not expecting anything in particular. I found the title catchy and let myself go.

    So far, I love it. It is sad and tough, but at the same time delicious with an underlying touch of humour. The details and the descriptions transport me to Ghana, to the slow and hot days. To me, this book is written from the heart and probably from memories and personal experiences.

    Family is like that sometimes: so close and so apart, you can neither live with them nor without them. I guess that is partly where the magic of family lies.

    I can't wait to move forward and find out more about the family and their story.

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  2. I am not sure what I was expecting, but in any case, I am liking the book so far.
    I loved the explanation of why the protagonist, Kweku Sai, thinks he loves Ama: "her capacity and natural state of being happy,so different from the other women in his life"... So simple, so wonderful, such low expectations, and at the same time so rare.
    The story is beautifully written and I like very much how we get to know the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters. Having said that, I am not finding it easy to follow the characters, the sequence, who and whose feelings we are reading about in each moment. As Arantxa, I like the subtle and underlying touch of humor.
    Looking forward to keep turning the pages and discovering the other characters in Kweku Sai's life.

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  3. I am reading behind schedule so just now I learned that Kweku left their home, abandoned his family. I am trying to be understanding of his feelings, open about a culture, education and pressure unknown to me, feel emphatic with his situation... But I am still reading the book and seeing the character with very different eyes now.

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