I got this from a friend of mine who recommended it, saying it is the first recognized post-colonial book out of Africa. Or something to that effect. I enjoyed it, although it took me a while to get into the writing style.
Stylistically, it seemed a bit, well, simplistic. It definitely wasn't what I am used to - the sentences tended to be short and choppy, rather than have much flow to them. On the other hand, it sometimes reminded me of storytelling, in the oral tradition. Still, it was a challenge for me, though by the end I was definitely into it - there's definitely some suspense.
Overall though, the characters don't seem to have much life to them (and my favorite work is character driven). It's a tragedy whose central character is a woman, Efuru. But throughout it all, there's not much emotion. She makes up her mind to marry a guy even though he can't provide a dowry and her approach seems very business-like.
The central theme is the change from the old ways to more modern ways. Consistently, the elders of the community complain about the youth going off and doing things, though it seems pretty clear that the elders were rebellious in their own time. However, this shift from a traditional way of life to a modern way of life is something different. It is impacted by the influence of White colonialists. Much of the change is seen as negative, although there is a doctor who cures several characters using modern medicine, so it isn't all bad.
Efuru, in many ways, is both traditional and modern and therefore can be seen to represent the broader experience of Africa; both traditional and modern, but ultimately, also a tragedy.
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