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dodgerdad93's review against another edition
4.0
Had to read this book for a college class, and I did not think I was going to enjoy it as much as I did! Incredible story telling!! A true joy to read!!
livesinthetub's review against another edition
5.0
book #21 of 2022: The Forest of a Thousand Daemons: A Hunter’s Saga (pub. 1938) by Nigerian novelist Daniel Orowole Fagunwa. looking back, I had this book recommended to me twice before I read it (once by a booklist and a second time by a server who’d been an English teacher) and then again while I was reading it by a literary podcast I was listening to (Marlon and Jake Read Dead People, season 1, episode 3 or 4 - I can’t recall which) - and they were all right: it was marvelous. because it’s a slender volume (153 pgs) and fit easily in my purse, this book has been my dinner date for several weeks. in the context of the Western literary timeline, it was written quite a bit after Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865) and just a bit prior to The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955), which JRR Tolkien wrote in response to WWII, both British fantasy works. in this book, an elder pays a village a few all-day visits, during which he recounts, to an ever growing audience, endlessly imaginative tales of his youth as a hunter, when he saw wondrous sights, encountered many magical beasts, fought bravely in battle - sometimes using magic, and heard tales of animals as well as celestial beings. The inventiveness of the storytelling is marvelous and spellbinding. I can compare that aspect only to Italo Calvino’s fantastical Invisible Cities, but there was also instruction re: raising children and ways to be and not to be as adults, which was reminiscent of Khalil Gilbran’s The Prophet (1923). There were a few undertones and direct references to biblical content, so this book wasn’t complete untouched by Western influence, but in light of other books I’ve read by authors from the continent, it was truly an African work, especially in its description of daily life, its wisdom, its boundless creativity, and its reverence towards good character and proper guidance of the youth. the translator, Wole Soyinka, a wonderful writer in his own right, made the English sing. also, the illustrations, by Bruce Onobrakpeya, are
stacialithub's review against another edition
4.0
This is supposedly the first (or one of the first?) novels written in Yoruba (in Nigeria in 1939). It's extremely fantastical. I found it interesting because it introduced a whole new (to me) group of mythical creatures & stories. If you like mythologies/epics from other cultures, you might find this interesting. Like many tales with mythical beings, it's very over-the-top in terms of the adventures & escapades the protagonist encounters. Probably 3.5 stars.
bookscatsandjazz's review against another edition
3.0
Surrealist and unpredictable. A strange book (in a good way) with a strange ending (in a bad way).
mmcloe's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Another recommendation from Marlon James. I think there's a lot to appreciate about the book's balance between universal themes (people coming together and facing odd and difficult challenges) and more regional themes (Yoruba mythology, Nigerian natureculture). I can definitely see how this is an ur text for Tutuola and James and other authors writing in West African fantastical styles, though I prefer the linguistic play of those later authors - I'm not sure how much is a matter of Soyinka's translation.
Wish this could get the same attention as its European contemporaries like The Hobbit!
Wish this could get the same attention as its European contemporaries like The Hobbit!
jaiminh0's review
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
ginganinja2507's review
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
rayne_1906's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
1 hour 48 minutes - It's hard to rate and review and give opinions on a book written about a culture I am unfamiliar with from a period time long before I was born. I have read that the English translation I have read is a very good preservation of the original story written in Yoruba. I'm not going to say that I enjoyed reading this book, but I definitely didn't hate it. There were even points where I wanted to keep reading despite my intention to stop. Certain aspects of the story were interesting, but there was just a lot that wasn't in between. The shift of perspective in the second half of the novel was also off-putting, as I forgot that it was part of the original plot-line and not a completely separate part of the book. However, I must say that I enjoyed this book more than I was expecting to, which is a plus.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Murder and Death
Minor: Alcohol, Excrement, and Gore
sampulham's review against another edition
5.0
You can listen to an in-depth discussion of 'Forest of a Thousand Daemons' on Sherds Podcast: http://www.holdfastnetwork.com/sherdspodcast/22/4/2019/19-forest-of-a-thousand-daemons-by-d-o-fagunwa