27/12/2023
Review of the Novel, “A Wreath for Udomo” by Peter Abrahams (359 pages)
Although it was first published in 1956, this book remains significant today because of the themes and issues it attempts to address and because of its literary value. It was written by a South African who emigrated to the UK in the early 40s and who fraternized with some pre-independence African leaders who would return to free their countries from the yoke of colonialism.
The storyline chronicles the social and political journeys of a group of young activists from two African countries (Panafrica and Pluralia) who go to London to study with the aim of gaining the knowledge and tools required to return to free their countries from the oppression of British colonialism. Chief among these is Michael Udomo, the latecomer to London from Panafrica, who later returns to prosecute a successful revolution and take over the governance of his country as Prime Minister. The story takes place both in London where they idealistically theorize about the revolution in their support/study group and in Africa where they put their ideas to the test and are rudely awaken to the vast difference between the dream of revolution and the reality of the responsibility of governing a country.
The central idea of the novel is that there is a difference between idealism and realism, that people evolve or fail to evolve, and that humans, even big, respected, and important ones, are fallible beings.
Other ideas/themes dealt with in the book in varying depths include the subservient role and s*xual objectification of women in a patriarchal society, the difficulties in navigating a dual world of African communitarianism and Western individualism (including social/cultural dislocation), and the perennial and intractable problem of tribalism on the African continent.
From a literary point of view, the book is well-written in understandable/accessible language for an average reader, is well-paced and enjoyable to read, and the author displays a good grasp of the literary tools of a novel such as character development, limiting interiority to only a few of the main characters, prudent and limited use of imagery, and avoiding excessive and unnecessary detail. For instance, even though the book has a number of s*x scenes, the author does not describe a single one of them – he only records when a scene starts and ends for the purpose of showing why coitus happened or of illuminating the character of the participants in the act.
The novel is a realistic depiction of human nature with all its strengths and frailties but, in 2023, in the era of equality, human rights and free will, the depiction of women as s*xual accessories for men and of men as helpless bundles of hormones who can almost never resist the s*xual lure of women, makes one a little uncomfortable. In fairness to the author, some women in the novel have enough personal agency and ownership.
Highly recommended - 4 stars
