Interesting piece. It is true of many other places too. Mainstream journalism has an archaic view that it continually peddles, knowingly or unknowingly. But are there a few that challenge this? I remember falling in love with Botswana after reading McCall Smith’s No 1 Ladies Detective Agency.
I think the more African voices we read, the better we can see the real picture. But its a similar problem in publishing, as you allude to in your piece.
Good point. It is possible to be entranced by parts of Africa through the books published about them. But here's a question: If a person from Botswana who wasn't called Alexander McCall Smith had written The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, would it have been published? It's a hypothetical question, of course, but there is a valid point to Chia's concerns in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's novel.
Interesting piece. It is true of many other places too. Mainstream journalism has an archaic view that it continually peddles, knowingly or unknowingly. But are there a few that challenge this? I remember falling in love with Botswana after reading McCall Smith’s No 1 Ladies Detective Agency.
I think the more African voices we read, the better we can see the real picture. But its a similar problem in publishing, as you allude to in your piece.
Good point. It is possible to be entranced by parts of Africa through the books published about them. But here's a question: If a person from Botswana who wasn't called Alexander McCall Smith had written The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, would it have been published? It's a hypothetical question, of course, but there is a valid point to Chia's concerns in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's novel.