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charliekusiel's review against another edition
5.0
I picked up The Radiance of the King at a used bookstore this past May while traveling. I automatically gravitated towards the shelf lined with the simple, colorful spines of New York Review of Books Classics, carefully pulling them out one by one and reading the back covers. If this caught my eye, I would flip to the first page, or perhaps a random one, and read a few sentences there. I had a short stack, going on maybe two or three, when I grabbed a shorter book by Camara Laye, an author I had never heard of before.
Some words on the back included:
“phantasmagoric landscape… alien splendor”
“wonderfully unsettling”
“Kafkaesque and African”
How can a little novel possibly be described as so many things? Indeed, I opened the book and, just past the introduction by Toni Morrison, I found an aphorism by Kafka: “The lord will pass through the corridor and looking at the prisoner will say: “This one must not be locked up anymore: he is coming to me.”” I put the other books back into their alphabetical spaces and took Camara Laye’s book to the register.
NYRB is, in my experience, a very reliable publisher. They put voices out there that deserve to be heard by a wider audience than they have already reached, and will bring something to any reader who encounters them. I’m sure that any book I could have chosen on that day would have been worth my time, maybe even more so than some better-known classics. The Radiance of the King is definitely no exception.
Laye spent nearly a decade of his life studying and writing in Paris. In this novel, he subtly seeks to discredit ignorant western stereotypes of Africa. Toni Morrison puts it best in her introduction:
“Of the many literary tropes of Africa, three are invidious: Africa as jungle - impenetrable, chaotic and threatening; Africa as sensual but not on its own rational; and the essence or “heart” of Africa, its ultimate discovery, as, unless mitigated by European influence and education, incomprehensible. The Radiance of the King engages these concretized assessments in such a way that the reader is invited (not told) to reevaluate his or her own store of “knowledge.””
The Radiance of the King is told from the perspective of a stubborn outsider, Clarence, who himself contains the stereotypes that Morrison brilliantly puts into words. It paints a picture of Africa that is sharp, yet also observant of the apparently alien landscape. Dreamlike sequences and ritualistic customs are, at times, intentionally foreign and difficult to understand. What may make this work ultimately important, I think, for white readers, is that there is no room to colonize, or exert their own influence over. Laye obviously had experienced this in his own life in French Guinea. Clarence is forced, over time, to understand his own individual humanity in a world that is utterly different from his.
Told in vivid, unrelenting prose, Camara Laye flips the world upside down in an incredibly profound 279 pages.
Some words on the back included:
“phantasmagoric landscape… alien splendor”
“wonderfully unsettling”
“Kafkaesque and African”
How can a little novel possibly be described as so many things? Indeed, I opened the book and, just past the introduction by Toni Morrison, I found an aphorism by Kafka: “The lord will pass through the corridor and looking at the prisoner will say: “This one must not be locked up anymore: he is coming to me.”” I put the other books back into their alphabetical spaces and took Camara Laye’s book to the register.
NYRB is, in my experience, a very reliable publisher. They put voices out there that deserve to be heard by a wider audience than they have already reached, and will bring something to any reader who encounters them. I’m sure that any book I could have chosen on that day would have been worth my time, maybe even more so than some better-known classics. The Radiance of the King is definitely no exception.
Laye spent nearly a decade of his life studying and writing in Paris. In this novel, he subtly seeks to discredit ignorant western stereotypes of Africa. Toni Morrison puts it best in her introduction:
“Of the many literary tropes of Africa, three are invidious: Africa as jungle - impenetrable, chaotic and threatening; Africa as sensual but not on its own rational; and the essence or “heart” of Africa, its ultimate discovery, as, unless mitigated by European influence and education, incomprehensible. The Radiance of the King engages these concretized assessments in such a way that the reader is invited (not told) to reevaluate his or her own store of “knowledge.””
The Radiance of the King is told from the perspective of a stubborn outsider, Clarence, who himself contains the stereotypes that Morrison brilliantly puts into words. It paints a picture of Africa that is sharp, yet also observant of the apparently alien landscape. Dreamlike sequences and ritualistic customs are, at times, intentionally foreign and difficult to understand. What may make this work ultimately important, I think, for white readers, is that there is no room to colonize, or exert their own influence over. Laye obviously had experienced this in his own life in French Guinea. Clarence is forced, over time, to understand his own individual humanity in a world that is utterly different from his.
Told in vivid, unrelenting prose, Camara Laye flips the world upside down in an incredibly profound 279 pages.
mishasw's review against another edition
4.0
Another 4 star bop! A very interesting and unique book. The ending was stunning but I thought the main stand out was the dialogue, which was clever and genuine. The characters were all great and the book was well paced... banger closing line too! "did you not know I was waiting for you?"
hannahlois's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sssnoo's review against another edition
4.0
I’m continuing my one country at a time journey through world literature, this time to Guinea.
The Radiance of the King is a classic written in the 1950’s. I felt transported to Guinea, and at the same time while reading the book I felt completely removed from my reality. A cover blurb describes the novel as phantasmagoric. That about sums it up. I’m glad I read it, and enjoyed it, even though it diverged a lot from the style of writing I typically gravitate to.
The Radiance of the King is a classic written in the 1950’s. I felt transported to Guinea, and at the same time while reading the book I felt completely removed from my reality. A cover blurb describes the novel as phantasmagoric. That about sums it up. I’m glad I read it, and enjoyed it, even though it diverged a lot from the style of writing I typically gravitate to.
cassandrat's review against another edition
I thought it was very silly, and I am into that, but it was too silly for the subject matter and not silly enough in ways that seemed meaningful. I also just didn't get the references.
lamusadelils's review against another edition
4.0
De ahora en adelante, cuando alguien me hable de Conrad le voy a aventar este libro en la cabeza
kiishiar's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
masu_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
drexedit's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5