The story is a classic quest tale in which the hero, a lazy boy who likes to spend. I was a palmwine drinkard since i was a boy of ten years of age. Dont be fooled by its diminutive size this slim little volume packs a wallop of a tales. This is a fascinating book, in many ways unlike anything i have ever read and yet also very familiar. The palmwine drinkard, by amos tutuola the irish times. The story tells, with terrifying imagination and comic invention, of how she achieves this experience and how, in the end, she escapes from it. The palm wine drinkard is written in short powerful bursts of peculiar narrative, unlike anything i had ever read before. Excerpt from the palmwine drinkard now we started our journey from the deads town directly to my home town which i had left for many years. The palmwine drinkard subtitled and his dead palm wine tapster in the deads town is a novel published in 1952 by the nigerian author amos tutuola. Bad enough that he followed her to her parents home in the village of makendhanow he.
The palm wine drinkard was written by amos tutuola. The novels narrator is a very spoiled rich boy who does little more than drink palmwine. The palmwine drinkard and his dead palmwine tapster in the deads town quotes amos tutuola this study guide consists of approximately 25 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the palmwine drinkard and his dead palmwine tapster in the deads town. But when my father noticed that i could not do any work more than to drink, he engaged an expert palmwinetapster for me. The palm wine drinkard study guide contains comprehensive summaries and analysis of the book. When amos tutuolas first novel, the palmwine drinkard, appeared in 1952, it aroused exceptional worldwide interest.
He is best known for the novel the palmwine drinkard and his dead palmwine tapster in the deads town 1952, which was the first nigerian book to achieve international fame tutuola had only six years of formal schooling and wrote completely outside the. Jan 07, 20 amos tutuola 1920 1997 was a largely selftaught nigerian writer who became internationally praised for books based in part on yoruba folktales, especially the phantasmagorical classic the palmwine drinkard 1952. Bush ef the ghosts had been his first published book. Drawing on the toruba oral folktale tradition, and embellishing his story with strong mythical and psychological implications, tutuola describes the odyssey of a devoted palmwine drinkard through a nightmare of fantastic. The palmwine drinkard and my life in the bush of ghosts. The wealthy son drinks as much as he pleases because he has a palmwine tapster for his own. I had no other work more than to drink palm wine in my life. Since its first publication in 1952, the palmwine drinkard has come to be regarded as the masterwork of one of africas best and most influential writers. If you turn out to be a palmwine drinkard, just remember, get your tapster some kind of safety equipment. The palmwine drinkard, 1952, amos tutuola the palmwine drinkard was written in the first person narrative. They learn of his adventures, among them his encounter with the jungle witch and her ostrich, his visit to the town of the water people and his imprisonment by the goddess of diamonds. The palmwine drinkard and his dead palmwine tapster in the deads townby amos tutuolathe literary work a novel set in nigeria in the timeless folkloric past. Drawing on the west african nigeria yoruba oral folktale tradition, tutuola described the odyssey of a devoted palm wine drinker through a nightmare of fantastic adventure.
His last book, the village witch doctor and other stories, was published in 1990. Apr 01, 20 the palmwine drinkard, 1952, amos tutuola the palmwine drinkard was written in the first person narrative. The protagonist tells the story of how he was so addicted to palmwine that his father provided him with the best palm wine tapper in the world. The palmwine drinkard by amos tutuola overdrive rakuten.
The palmwine drinkard kindle edition by tutuola, amos, soyinka, wole. The palmwine drinkard is a myth and cannot really be read as a novel. From the perspective of weird fiction aficionados the book is. Amos tutuola 20 june 1920 8 june 1997 was a nigerian writer who wrote books based in part on yoruba folktales. Since then, the palmwine drinkard has been translated into more than 15 languages and has come to be regarded as a masterwork of one of africas most influential writers. Stay up all night with us 6 books you wont be able to. The west african writer amos tutuola burst onto the postwar metropolitan literary scene with the palmwine drinkard published by faber and faber1 in 1952. It was a wild whirl of tales and motifs, inspired by west african oral storytelling traditions and the arabian nights. The palmwine drinkard, in full the palmwine drinkard and his dead palmwine tapster in the deads town, novel by amos tutuola, published in 1952 and since translated into many languages. The novel depicts the adventures of the palm wine drinkard who sets out on a long and dangerous journey to the spiritoccupied threshold world where magic and reality mingle in order to save his palm wine tapster from the land.
The narrative is concerned with his search for the tapster, and the deads town in which he now resides. The palm wine drinkard is the first solo mixtape by rapper kool a. Drawing on the west african nigeria yoruba oral folktale tradition, tutuola described the odyssey of a devoted palmwine drinker through a nightmare of fantastic adventure. He completed his first book, the palmwine drinkard, in only a few days. The drinkard goes off on a quest to find the tapster, journeying through a dangerous jungle and fighting many scary monsters on his way to deads town. Since then, the palm wine drinkard has been translated into more than 15 languages and has come to be regarded as a masterwork of one of africas most influential writers. The palmwine drinkard and his dead palmwine tapster in the deads town lesson plan contains a variety of teaching materials that cater to all learning styles.
Amos tutuola 1920 1997 was a nigerian writer who became internationally praised for books based in part on yoruba folktales, especially the phantasmagorical classic the palmwine drinkard 1952, from which this excerpt is taken. The palmwine drinkard and his dead palmwine tapster in the deads town is a work written by the nigerian writer amos tutuola and is based on his homelands folktales. The palm wine drinkard and my life in the bush of ghosts amos tutuola. His last book, the village witch doctor and other stories, was.
Complete summary of amos tutuolas the palmwine drinkard. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The palmwine drinkard 1977 read online free book by amos. I had no other work more than to drink palmwine in my life. In it, a man follows his brewer into the land of the dead, encountering many. He is best known for the novel the palmwine drinkard and his dead palmwine tapster in the deads town 1952, which was the first nigerian book to achieve international fame.
The first african novel published in english outside of africa, this quest tale based on yoruba folktales is written in a modified yoruba english or pidgin english. The palmwine drinkard and my life in the bush of ghosts by. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the palmwine drinkard. Amos tutuola quotes author of the palmwine drinkard. Amos tutuola was born olatubosun odegbami in wasinmi, a village just a few miles outside of abeokuta, nigeria, on june.
The palmwine drinkard and his dead palmwine tapster in. The palmwine drinkard, published in 1952, is a classic of african literature. And his dead palmwine tapster in the deads town by tutuola, amos and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. I was a palm wine drinkard since i was a boy of ten years of age. Amos tutuola was born in abeokuta, nigeria, in 1920. The palmwine drinkard by amos tutuola african book addict. Eliot described as a creepy crawly imagination, the palm wine drinkard is regarded as the seminal work of african literature. Sep 30, 2012 by diosi romeo smith and austin peppel. The palm wine drinkard, published in 1952, is a classic of african literature. It is a story about a young man from a rich family. Released in january 2012, it is the first of two mixtapes released by kool a.
Reviewed by sasha f, concierge service how can one not be intrigued by a book subtitled and his dead palmwine tapster in the deads town. The palmwine drinkard and his dead palmwine tapster in the. Synopsis drinkard, the protaganist and narrator of the novel, goes in search of his deceased palmwine tapster in deads town. His first novel, the palmwine drinkard, was published in 1952 and brought him international recognition. In those days we did not know other money, except cowries, so that everything was very cheap, and my father was the richest man in our town. It is in style and contents very similar to the numerous myths relayed by joseph campbell in his volumes of mythology, the masks of god. Mar 14, 2019 sequel to the palm wine drinkard and often published with it as a single volume, bush of ghosts recounts the adventures of a nameless young boy of seven driven by war into a supernatural realm.
The wealthy son drinks as much as he pleases because he has a palm wine tapster for his own. Each night the people return, eager to discover if there is a happy. The palmwine drinkard was the first african novel published in english outside of africa. From the perspective of weird fiction aficionados the book. Amos tutuola 1920 1997 was a nigerian writer who became internationally praised for books based in part on yoruba folktales, especially the phantasmagorical classic the palm wine drinkard 1952, from which this excerpt is taken. The palmwine drinkard provoked controversy for its episodic rendering of yoruba folktales in nonstandard english. Mar 03, 2015 this book reminded me of the ananse the spider folktales, but the palmwine drinkard is a more extreme and exaggerated type of folktale. It has been lauded by the likes of dylan thomas and ts eliot and can be seen to have paved the way for magic realism.
But amos tutola offers no explanations and so the reader is left in the dark. The palm wine drinkard is a sort of fairy story about a man who drinks palm wine to the tune of 150 kegs per day until his tapster i. Each night the people return, eager to discover if there is a. Use of the excerpt here is expressly as promotion for our e. Drawing on the west african yoruba oral folktale tradition, tutuola described the odyssey of a devoted palm wine drinker through a nightmare of fantastic adventure. About the book since its first publication in 1952, the palmwine drinkard has come to be regarded as the masterwork of one of africas best and most influential writers. The novel depicts the adventures of the palmwine drinkard who sets out on a long and dangerous journey to the spiritoccupied threshold world where magic and reality mingle in order to save his palmwine tapster from the land. The palmwine drinkard 1977 read online free book by.
The first thing that strikes you within the opening sentences is that this is a nonjudgemental world. The narrator names himself the father of gods who can do anything in this world and goes on a wild adventure into the bush, using trickery and sorcery to overcome a series of supernatural foes and challenge even death itself. The palmwine drinkard subtitled and his dead palmwine tapster in the deads town is a novel published in 1952 by the nigerian author amos tutuola. This book reminded me of the ananse the spider folktales, but the palmwine drinkard is a more extreme and exaggerated type of folktale. And his dead palm wine tapster in the deads town by tutuola, amos and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. In feather woman of the jungle, the people of a yoruba village gather on ten memorable nights to hear the stories and wisdom of their chief. His first novel, the palmwine drinkard and his dead palmwine tapster in the. When amos tutuolas first novel, the palm wine drinkard, appeared in 1952, it aroused exceptional worldwide interest. I read palmwine drinkard first, then read other things, and came back a month later to read my life in the bush of ghosts. May 08, 2012 amos tutuola 1920 1997 was a nigerian writer who became internationally praised for books based in part on yoruba folktales, especially the phantasmagorical classic the palmwine drinkard 1952, from which this excerpt is taken. From 1956 until retirement, he worked for the nigerian broadcasting company while continuing to write. It was a kind of extended fable filled with magic and adventure, mixing myth and folktale in a seemingly endless procession of wonder. As we were going on this road, we met over a thousand deads who were just going to the deads town and if they saw us coming towards them on that road, they would branch into the bush and come back.
The palm wine drinkard subtitled and his dead palm wine tapster in the deads town is a novel published in 1952 by the nigerian author amos tutuola. The palm wine drinkard and his dead palm wine tapster in the deads town lesson plan contains a variety of teaching materials that cater to all learning styles. The palmwine drinkard by amos tutuola author wole soyinka author of introduction, etc. Amos tutuola 1920 1997 was a nigerian writer who became internationally praised for books based in part on yoruba folktales, especially. While bush of ghosts reads very much like a continuation of palmwine drinkard, id say its even after a lifetime spent reading crazy books, ive found that this is the craziest book. Welsh poet dylan thomas called the novel thronged, grisly and bewitching, bringing it even more attention. Life after death experience nde with steve gardipee, vietnam war story one of the best ndes duration. The drinkard describes himself as professional drinker of the alcoholic palmwine. His first novel, the palm wine drinkard, was acquired by t. The storyline got better when i gave this book a second try after abandoning it for sometime. Palm wine, known also as toddy, is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the palmyra, date palms, and coconut palms. Written in the english of the yoruba oral tradition, the novel was the first nigerian book to achieve international fame. Excerpt from the palm wine drinkard now we started our journey from the deads town directly to my home town which i had left for many years.
With an overdrive account, you can save your favorite libraries for ataglance information about availability. The palmwine drinkard study guide contains comprehensive summaries and analysis of the book. Inside youll find 30 daily lessons, 20 fun activities, 180 multiple choice questions, 60 short essay questions, 20 essay questions, quizzeshomework assignments, tests, and more. His wealthy father has a tapster who expertly extracts the wine from the. Nigerian author amos tutuola published his novel the palmwine drinkard in 1952. Amos tutuola 1920 1997 was a largely selftaught nigerian writer who became internationally praised for books based in part on yoruba folktales, especially the phantasmagorical classic the palmwine drinkard 1952. The palmwine drinkard and his dead palmwine tapster. The mixtape takes its name from amos tutuolas novel the palmwine drinkard.
Drawing on the toruba oral folktale tradition, and embellishing his story with strong mythical and psychological implications, tutuola describes the odyssey of a devoted. It is known by various names in different regions and is common in various parts of asia, africa, the caribbean, south america, and micronesia. Tutuolas second novel, my life in the bush of ghosts, recounts the fate of mortals who stray into the world of ghosts, the heart of the tropical forest. Amos tutuola is a great writer with a freaky imagination. The palmwine drinkard is a sort of fairy story about a man who drinks palm wine to the tune of 150 kegs per day until his tapster i. The palm wine drinkard and his dead palm wine tapster in the deads town is a work written by the nigerian writer amos tutuola and is based on his homelands folktales. Africanism theme, and technique in amos tutuolas the.
1428 497 1209 1440 350 601 47 535 1140 1002 443 899 972 1125 515 1671 1051 655 1598 809 1152 748 740 412 567 995 1455 381 260 1294 631 1477 1338