The Second Round (novel)

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The second round
The Second Round (novel).jpg
1965 edition
AuthorLenrie Peters
LanguageEnglish
GenrePoetry, fiction
PublisherApollo
Publication date
1 Mar. 2024
Publication placeSierra Leonean
Pages256
ISBN 978-1803289106

The Second Round is an English language novel by Sierra Leonean-Gambian writer and poet Lenrie Peters. The novel is Peters's first and only novel. The novel was first published in 1965, and subsequently reprinted in 1966 as part of the influential Heinemann African Writers Series. [1] The novel is semi-autobiographical, following the experience of a western educated doctor, Dr. Kawa, who returns to Freetown to practise medicine. [2]

Critics describe the novel as reflecting the concerns of West Africans during the immediately post-colonial African community, [1] [3] nationalism, [3] westernization, [3] the difficulty adjusting to returning to Africa from abroad, [1] and the "ethos" of Freetown society at the time. [2] The novel has overt Pan-Africanist political themes, juxtaposes the "black world versus the European". [3] The book also describe characters in terms of Jungian psychology. [4] Charles Larson called the novel "African Gothic", though this characterization was criticized by reviewer Omolara Leslie in Black World. [5]

The novel has been compared to Chinua Achebe's No Longer at Ease [3] and the works of fellow Gambian-born Sierra Leonean William Conton. [3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Griffiths, Gareth (2014). African Literatures in English: East and West. Routledge. ISBN   9781317895848 via Google Books.
  2. 1 2 Owomoyela, Oyekan (1993-01-01). A History of Twentieth-century African Literatures . U of Nebraska Press. pp.  26. ISBN   080328604X. the%20second%20round%20lenrie%20peters.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Saine, Abdoulaye (2012-01-01). Culture and Customs of Gambia. ABC-CLIO. pp. 66–67. ISBN   9780313359101.
  4. Gérard, Albert S. (1986-01-01). European-language Writing in Sub-Saharan Africa. John Benjamins Publishing. p. 860. ISBN   9630538342.
  5. Black World/Negro Digest. Johnson Publishing Company. 1974-08-01. pp. 91–96.