No Sweetness Here and Other Stories
by Ama Ata Aidoo
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In this collection, Ama Aita Aidoo explores postcolonial life in Ghana with her characteristic honesty and humor. Tradition wrestles with new urban influences as Africans try to sort out their identity in a changing culture. True to the tradition of African storytelling, the characters come to life through their distinct voices and speech. If there is no sweetness, there is the salt essential to life, even if it comes from tears, and the strength that comes from a history of endurance.Tags
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No Sweetness Here is a collection of eleven short stories set in post-colonial Ghana. Aidoo has a wonderful ear for dialogue, and the rhythms and cadence of the language here make it rewarding to read aloud. A handful of the stories themselves I did like, but most of them fell flat for me—they felt quite dated, what may well have been new and fresh in the 60s just failing to capture me now. Worth reading for the title story and 'For Whom Things Did Not Change.'
I stumbled on this among my grandmother's books - what a treasure. So I had been meaning to read it this year after I found it, then heard shortly after that that Ama Ata Aidoo had passed. So then I DEFINITELY had to get around to reading it. I am a short story collection reader! This is a great one! Aidoo writes about Ghana and now this collection is over 50 years old. But it's still a great one to pick up. Some things might go over my head, but that is understandable, I haven't read much from Ghana or even from the 1970s? But wow, this must have been fresh stuff 50 years ago! It still seems so.
Powerful stories of life in Ghana, which I read while I was there in 1996.
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16+ Works 1,055 Members
Born near Dominase, in central Ghana, Aidoo is today the leading Ghanaian writer. She was the daughter of a chief and grew p in a royal family. Educated at the University of Ghana at Legon, where she graduated in 1964 with a B.A. in English, Aidoo worked as a Research Fellow at the Institute of African Studies in Legon. Ghana's gaining its show more independence in 1965 greatly influenced Aidoo. Her writings reveal her interest in the historical events that have shaped her country. She believes that the status of women in Africa and the struggle for women's liberation cannot be distinct from the nation's struggles. She made her debut as writer with a short story, "No Sweetness Here" (1965). The story had previously won a prize in a short-story competition. This story provides the title of Aidoo's first collection of stories. Aidoo is better known as a playwright, and her two earliest plays, Anowa (first published in 1970) and The Dilemma of a Ghost (first published in 1965) remain popular. Aidoo has taught in several parts of Africa as well as the United States. She now lives and teaches in Harare, Zimbabwe. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Reviews
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- Rating
- (3.48)
- Languages
- English
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- ISBNs
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