My life in the Bush of Ghosts

TimMason reviewed My Life In the Bush of Ghosts by Amos Tutuola

Review of 'My Life In the Bush of Ghosts' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Part of me gives this 5 stars and part of me gives it 1. It's either a work of genius or something the cat brought in after a rainy night out.

It's a set of folk-tales strung together on plot line that follows the protagonist as he is blown hither and yon in an African version of Alice's Wonderland. He is variously beaten, starved, imprisoned and worshipped as a God - which involves being regularly soaked with blood.

The language is syntactically wild, a dialect which the author seems to have invented. This can be both funny and infuriating, often at the same time.

By all means read it.

rufzerg666 reviewed My Life In the Bush of Ghosts by Amos Tutuola

Review of 'My Life In the Bush of Ghosts' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

It's this weird bildungsroman about a boy who gets separated from his village and family and has to survive in the world of 'bush ghosts' on his own. It has a lot of folkloric and horror elements.

-"And it was that day I believed that if fear is overmuch, a person would not fear for anything again."

-good/sad/beautiful part about singing the sad song of his village

-so much sacrificing, dancing, and feasting

-get-togethers, conferences,

-'flash-eyed mother' chapter reads like adventure time

-surreal, dreamlike, nighmarish, but also kind of funny

-also, gross, lots of bodily descriptions of smells and ugly excretions

-"I shall not do any evil work throught my life-time in this Bush of Ghosts."

-"clean places are driving a dirty person away as if it will hurt him." in the nameless town chapter.

-several scenes of him in front of figures of authority having to answer for a …

It's this weird bildungsroman about a boy who gets separated from his village and family and has to survive in the world of 'bush ghosts' on his own. It has a lot of folkloric and horror elements.

-"And it was that day I believed that if fear is overmuch, a person would not fear for anything again."

-good/sad/beautiful part about singing the sad song of his village

-so much sacrificing, dancing, and feasting

-get-togethers, conferences,

-'flash-eyed mother' chapter reads like adventure time

-surreal, dreamlike, nighmarish, but also kind of funny

-also, gross, lots of bodily descriptions of smells and ugly excretions

-"I shall not do any evil work throught my life-time in this Bush of Ghosts."

-"clean places are driving a dirty person away as if it will hurt him." in the nameless town chapter.

-several scenes of him in front of figures of authority having to answer for a misdeed or mistake he did not wilfully do. kings, gods, judges, wizardkings, etc.

The final statement is so jarring, but also makes a lot of sense.

John

rated it

April 29, 2022

Phiznlil

rated it

Feb. 28, 2015

My life in the Bush of Ghosts

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