![]() ![]() There is not the duality between a dominant European culture and an indigenous one that one expects from magic realism. Occasionally there is a reference to modern life - eg a tree taking something like photos or a reference to a bomb - but most of the time we are firmly in the land of Tutuola's ancestors. The Drinkard encounters a different creature every few pages. The novel is packed with amazing immortal creatures - bush spirits and strange people, some living and some dead. I believe the immortal creatures must have moved away. They lived with immortal creatures of the forest. Tutuola said that he wrote to tell of my ancestors and how they lived in their days. ![]() The rest of the novel follows the Drinkard's travels and his adventures. When the tapster falls to his death from a palm tree, the Drinkard goes in search his servant. This behaviour is not punished, instead his father hires a tapster to tap the 200 kegs of wine a day that the Drinkard consumes. The Drinkard describes himself as professional drinker of the alcoholic palm-wine. The first thing that strikes you (within the opening sentences) is that this is a non-judgemental world. ![]() This is a fascinating book, in many ways unlike anything I have ever read and yet also very familiar. ![]()
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