And his concubine, whose name was reumah, she bare also tebah, and gaham, and thahash, and maachah. The book has a very slow beginning and i almost gave up but once things started happening i. He is the author of the renowned trilogy of novels the concubine, the great ponds, the slave. A story of customs and sheer human will against those those customs. The novel segu by maryse conde, shows how these islamic movements brought. By grumpyangel ongoing updated sep 16, 2018 embed story share via email read new reading list. He left the army finally to work for the rivers state government, where he headed the ministry of education. Amadis narrative of his participation in the nigeriabiafra war as a federal army. Whereas segu focused on changes, the concubine, by elechi amadi, took a more timeless approach, focusing solely on the traditional religion of the igbo society and its effects. The inherent indebtedness of the african novel to the corpus of african oral forms and cultural resources as well as the western literary tradition has sometimes been unacknowledged and unappreciated. With yeojeong jo, dongwook kim, minjoon kim, jiyoung park.
The concubine has been made into a film, written by elechi amadi and directed by nollywood director andy amenechi. Oral aesthetics and cultural distillates in elechi amadis the concubine abstract. He was an author of plays and novels that are generally about african village life, customs, beliefs, and religious practices prior to contact with the western world. Rooted firmly among the hunting and fishing villages of the niger delta, the concubine nevertheless possesses the timelessness and universality of a major novel. Nevertheless, this was a very classic book and reflects the heritage of african culture. Buy the concubine heinemann african writers series by amadi, elechi from amazons fiction books store. Buy the concubine by elechi amadi online at alibris.
Oral aesthetics and cultural distillates in elechi amadis. Interms of literaral value, ie themes style and the gramnar that elechi amadi uses i would say that the book is really a clasic. Elechi amadi who writes with speed and sharpness and exhilarationa lovely and dignified picture of a society not only still ruled by the gods. In particular, this new emphasis on islam brought fear into the lives of many women. The concubine by elechi amadi is part of the neinemann african writers series. However, i was a bit saddened by the tragic end of this outstanding book, i think the end could been more in depth. The concubine is a fictitious novel by nigerian author elechi amadi. Elechi amadi, nigerian novelist and playwright best known for works that explore traditional life and the role of the supernatural in rural nigeria.
The west african village novel with particular reference to elechi amadi s the concubine, george nyamndi, 1982, african fiction english, 241 pages. These novels concern human destiny and the extent to which it can be changed. He published a second collection of stories titled emperor of the sea in 1974 and the. Empress dowager cixi punishes emperors concubine for.
The concubine elechi amadi national library of australia. The hongwu emperor is revered as founder of the ming dynasty and is considered one of the most influential, important chinese emperors. A tragic love triangle story between hwayeon, a daughter of a nobleman, her true love kwonyoo, a servant and the man who will be king, prince sungwon. It is a beautiful but sad story of rebellion and love. What are the styles used in elechi amadis the concubine. The concubine by elechi amadi goodreads share book, african literature the concubine is a fictitious novel by nigerian author elechi the concubine, elechi amadi, heinemann, 1966, 0435905562, 9780435905569, 216 pages. The great ponds 1969, sunset in biafra 1973, the slave 1978 and estrangement 1986. Elechi amadis the concubine, which is the subject of analysis in this text, is a classical example of supernatural prose form. The concubine is the debut novel by nigerian writer elechi amadi originally published in 1966 as part of the heinemann african writers series. My splendid concubine kindle edition by lofthouse, lloyd.
According to wikpedia, amadis novels are generally about african village life, customs, beliefs and religious practices, as they were before contact with the western world and this is certainly true of the concubine. The concubine, elechi amadi, heinemann, 1966, 0435905562, 9780435905569, 216 pages. The concubine, 1966, 216 pages, elechi amadi, 0435905562. However, their passion is fated, and jealousy, a love potion and. And his civil war diary, sunset in biafra, has been acclaimed. The inability to marry may be due to multiple factors such as differences in social rank status, an existing marriage, religious or professional prohibitions, or a lack of recognition by appropriate authorities. Jun 30, 2016 renowned nigerian author elechi amadi has died of an undisclosed illness at the age of 82. He provides us with a peek into the ibgo way of life before western contact.
Her first husband, emenike, died following a fight with madume, the village villain. The most common theory is that it was built to elevate the emperors soul into. Ihuoma, a beautiful young widow, has the admiration of the entire community in which she lives, and especially of the hunter ekwueme. The concubine by elechi amadi the concubine has its setting in west africa and was published in 1966. Oct 07, 2017 the concubine is a fictitious novel by nigerian author elechi amadi. She paces the wooden floor nervously, the skirts of. This by far my favorite book by an african writer, and though i have read nearly 100 african novels, this is the only one that i have reread 3 times. Apr 26, 2017 the concubine ebook written by elechi amadi. Sep 05, 2019 open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. Jan 16, 2011 the concubine is indeed one if the great works i have read from african writer. The concubine by elechi amadi goodreads share book. According to wikpedia, amadi s novels are generally about african village life, customs, beliefs and religious practices, as they were before contact with the western world and this is certainly true of the concubine. Alastair niven in his critical study of the novel wrote.
Ihuoma, a beautiful young widow of exemplary character, has the admiration. A credible one and will keep a copy on my home library forever. I remember being so immersed in the story each time i picked up the book, i was oblivious to everything else. Set in the joseon dynasty, it centers around hwayeon jo yeojeong, who becomes a royal concubine against her will, kwonyoo kim minjoon, a man torn between love and revenge, and prince sungwon kim dongwook, who has his heart set on hwayeon despite the countless women available to him. I found the concubine by jade lee a very pleasant and unusual read. Read 1 from the story the emperor s concubine by grumpyangel with 26,725 reads.
A family member has confirmed the poet and novelist died in hospital in port harcourt on wednesday afternoon. Amadis first novel, the concubine, was published in london in 1966 and was hailed as a most accomplished first performance. Elechi amadi 12 may 1934 29 june 2016 was a former member of the nigerian armed forces. The concubine 1966 is one of his five novels, the others being the great ponds, the slave, isiburu and estrangement. Ihuoma, the central character in the concubine, is the most desirable woman in the village of omokachi because of her beauty and reputation. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the concubine. Amadi, an ikwere ikwerre, ikwerri who wrote in english, studied physics and mathematics at government college, umuahia, and the university of.
Her novel the empress orchid 2004 was a finalist for thebritish book awards and her memoir, the cooked seed, was chosen by amazon editorsas one of the. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction. Chinas concubine dramas have lost the emperors favor. For conquering emperors heart,the concubine sneaked into the emperors bed and kissed him. Covid19 ask a librarian due to the need to contain the spread of coronavirus covid19 the library building and reading rooms are closed to visitors until further notice. I so love this classic novel, it was so interesting and captivating. Another rural novel of significance is elechi amadis the concubine. The african novel eng african novel eng 281 281 his wives. Like amadi s other books, it centers on traditional values in african society. I have been deeply fascinated with china and chinese history ever since reading wild swans many years ago, and i was delighted to discover that harlequin blaze were publishing a historical romance set in imperial china. In elechi amadi traditional life in nigerian villages. Elechi amadi takes you to places that are both physical and abstract through the concubine. Immediately download the the concubine summary, chapter by chapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for studying or teaching the concubine. The only major male character is the emperor, but he is the man with absolute power over the fate of all other characters, whether its.
Seeking to understand the stylistic devices in the novel. After a period of land surveying and teaching he enlisted in the nigerian army. Ihuoma, a beautiful young widow, has the admiration of the. Rivalry, conflict and disunity are major themes, evidenced most strikingly by the land wrangle between madume and emenike over a shifted boundary.
In 1851, the young emperor must find himself an empress and an appropriate number of lesser consorts and. The concubine by elechi amadi elechi amadis premier novel initiated me into the world of african writers. The concubine 1966, the great ponds 1969, and the slave 1978. It tells the story of a beautiful woman, ihuoma, who is admired by all the men not only because she is beautiful but. The novel was first published in 1966 after which the author published a number of other literary works.
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