My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (novel)

Last updated
My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
MyLifeInTheBushOfGhosts.jpg
First edition (UK)
Author Amos Tutuola
CountryNigeria
LanguageEnglish
GenreFairy Tale, Fantasy
Publisher Faber and Faber (UK) Grove Press (US)
Publication date
1954
Pages174
Preceded by The Palm-Wine Drinkard  
Followed bySimbi and the Satyr of the Dark Jungle 

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts [1] is a novel by Nigerian writer Amos Tutuola, published in 1954, It tells the story of a young West African boy who becomes lost in the wilderness, known as the bush, after fleeing from slave traders with his elder brother. The novel is presented as a collection of related narratives, although not always in chronological order, which adds to its surreal and dreamlike quality.

Contents

The protagonist, who remains unnamed throughout the book, is portrayed as young and inexperienced, unaware of the dangers that lurk in the bush, including ghosts and spirits that pose great peril to mortals. As he navigates through this strange and mysterious place, he encounters a series of bizarre and often nightmarish beings and experiences. [2] Tutuola's use of English, from the perspective of a naive and youthful narrator, creates a unique and authentic voice that adds to the novel's charm and intrigue.

Like Tutuola's earlier work, The Palm-Wine Drinkard, My Life in the Bush of Ghosts is heavily metaphorical and autobiographica l. Tutuola draws on his own experiences and African folklore to craft a tale that explores themes of identity, culture, and the human condition. The novel's disjointed narrative structure and fantastical elements, reminiscent of Grimms Fairy Tales, lend it a sense of otherworldliness and make it a captivating read that challenges traditional notions of storytelling.

Critical reception

Time magazine selected My Life in the Bush of Ghosts as one of its "100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time". [3]

The title was Nominee for narrative Strainers in 1984 by Premio Grinzane Cavour. [2]

Tributes

The title of the 1981 album My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by David Byrne and Brian Eno was taken from this novel. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Aldiss</span> British science fiction writer (1925–2017)

Brian Wilson Aldiss was an English writer, artist and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for occasional pseudonyms during the mid-1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horror fiction</span> Genre of fiction

Horror is a genre of fiction that is intended to disturb, frighten or scare. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which are in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, defined the horror story as "a piece of fiction in prose of variable length... which shocks, or even frightens the reader, or perhaps induces a feeling of repulsion or loathing". Horror intends to create an eerie and frightening atmosphere for the reader. Often the central menace of a work of horror fiction can be interpreted as a metaphor for larger fears of a society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Algernon Blackwood</span> English broadcasting narrator, journalist, novelist and short story writer

Algernon Henry Blackwood, CBE was an English broadcasting narrator, journalist, novelist and short story writer, and among the most prolific ghost story writers in the history of the genre. The literary critic S. T. Joshi stated, "His work is more consistently meritorious than any weird writer's except Dunsany's" and that his short story collection Incredible Adventures (1914) "may be the premier weird collection of this or any other century".

<i>Remain in Light</i> 1980 studio album by Talking Heads

Remain in Light is the fourth studio album by American rock band Talking Heads, released on October 8, 1980 by Sire Records. It was recorded at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas and Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia during July and August 1980. It was the last Talking Heads album to be produced by Brian Eno.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Priest (novelist)</span> British author

Christopher Priest is a British novelist and science fiction writer. His works include Fugue for a Darkening Island, The Inverted World, The Affirmation, The Glamour, The Prestige, and The Separation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amos Tutuola</span> Nigerian writer

Amos Tutuola was a Nigerian writer who wrote books based in part on Yoruba folk-tales.

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghost story</span> Literary genre, work of literature featuring supernatural elements

A ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them. The "ghost" may appear of its own accord or be summoned by magic. Linked to the ghost is the idea of a "haunting", where a supernatural entity is tied to a place, object or person. Ghost stories are commonly examples of ghostlore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afrofuturism</span> Cultural aesthetic and philosophy

Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic, philosophy of science, and history that explores the intersection of the African diaspora culture with science and technology. It addresses themes and concerns of the African diaspora through technoculture and speculative fiction, encompassing a range of media and artists with a shared interest in envisioning black futures that stem from Afro-diasporic experiences. While Afrofuturism is most commonly associated with science fiction, it can also encompass other speculative genres such as fantasy, alternate history, and magic realism. The term was coined by Mark Dery, an American Cultural critic in 1993 and explored in the late 1990s through conversations led by Alondra Nelson.

African American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. It begins with the works of such late 18th-century writers as Phillis Wheatley. Before the high point of enslaved people narratives, African American literature was dominated by autobiographical spiritual narratives. The genre known as slave narratives in the 19th century were accounts by people who had generally escaped from slavery, about their journeys to freedom and ways they claimed their lives. The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s was a great period of flowering in literature and the arts, influenced both by writers who came North in the Great Migration and those who were immigrants from Jamaica and other Caribbean islands. African American writers have been recognized by the highest awards, including the Nobel Prize given to Toni Morrison in 1993. Among the themes and issues explored in this literature are the role of African Americans within the larger American society, African American culture, racism, slavery, and social equality. African-American writing has tended to incorporate oral forms, such as spirituals, sermons, gospel music, blues, or rap.

<i>The Palm-Wine Drinkard</i> 1952 novel by Nigerian writer Amos Tutuola

The Palm-Wine Drinkard is a novel published in 1952 by the Nigerian author Amos Tutuola. The first African novel published in English outside of Africa, this quest tale based on Yoruba folktales is written in a modified English or Pidgin English. In it, a man follows his brewer into the land of the dead, encountering many spirits and adventures. The novel has always been controversial, inspiring both admiration and contempt among Western and Nigerian critics, but has emerged as one of the most important texts in the African literary canon, translated into more than a dozen languages.

The lost world is a subgenre of the fantasy or science fiction genres that involves the discovery of an unknown Earth civilization. It began as a subgenre of the late-Victorian adventure romance and remains popular into the 21st century.

<i>My Life in the Bush of Ghosts</i> (album) 1981 album by Brian Eno and David Byrne

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts is the first collaborative studio album by Brian Eno and David Byrne, released in February 1981. It was Byrne's first album without his band Talking Heads. The album integrates sampled vocals and found sounds, African and Middle Eastern rhythms, and electronic music techniques. It was recorded before Eno and Byrne's work on Talking Heads' 1980 album Remain in Light, but problems clearing samples delayed its release by several months.

<i>The Coral Island</i> 1857 novel by R. M. Ballantyne

The Coral Island: A Tale of the Pacific Ocean (1857) is a novel written by Scottish author R. M. Ballantyne. One of the first works of juvenile fiction to feature exclusively juvenile heroes, the story relates the adventures of three boys marooned on a South Pacific island, the only survivors of a shipwreck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black science fiction</span> Science fiction involving black people

Black science fiction or black speculative fiction is an umbrella term that covers a variety of activities within the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres where people of the African diaspora take part or are depicted. Some of its defining characteristics include a critique of the social structures leading to black oppression paired with an investment in social change. Black science fiction is "fed by technology but not led by it." This means that black science fiction often explores with human engagement with technology instead of technology as an innate good.

Speculative fiction is defined as science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Within those categories exists many other subcategories, for example cyberpunk, magical realism, and psychological horror.

<i>Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno Tour</i> 2008–09 concert tour by David Byrne

The Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno Tour is a 2008–2009 promotional concert tour of music co-written by David Byrne and Brian Eno with performances by Byrne. In addition to being a retrospective of the duo's collaborations, the tour promoted the album Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. The musical performers were accompanied by dancers who were choreographed to several songs. Performances were held across the world and later documented on a tour EP and a concert film.

<i>The House of Discarded Dreams</i> Book by Ekaterina Sedia

The House of Discarded Dreams is a 2010 fantasy novel by Ekaterina Sedia about a college student who experiences many fairy tales and legends as she finds her place in the world.

"The Jezebel Spirit" is the fifth song from the 1981 album My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by David Byrne and Brian Eno. It was released as a single the same year.

References

  1. Tutuola, Amos (2014-07-01). My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. Faber & Faber. ISBN   978-0-571-31155-2.
  2. 1 2 "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts". Goodreads. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  3. "The 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time". Time . 15 October 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  4. Byrne, David (2006). "The Making of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts". My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (liner notes). Brian Eno and David Byrne (reissue ed.). Virgin Records. 0946 331341 2 6. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 26 November 2020.

Scholarly articles