Title:
Making sense of Wole Soyinka’s difficult and brilliant new novel
Author:
David Attwell
Professor of Modern Literature, University of York
Published:
The Conversation, 25 November 2021
From the article:
A new novel by celebrated Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka – Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth – is a major event. But some critics have complained that the book is too long and difficult. Esteemed literary critic David Attwell takes these critics on in his annual English Academy Lecture in Cape Town, titled ‘Just what gods do you serve, if any?’: Wole Soyinka’s Chronicles and the Destruction of Postcolonial Reason. This is a shortened version of that lecture, which will be appearing in the English Academy Review.