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Book Review: The Prophet of Zongo Street

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  • Book Review: The Prophet of Zongo Street

    Kirkus Reviews
    May 1, 2005

    THE PROPHET OF ZONGO STREET;
    Stories


    Ten lively, polished stories from Ghanian-American writer Ali about
    the transformation of Africa from old country to new.

    Ali's tales alternate between a hometown setting of Zongo Street--a
    densely populated neighborhood of Ghana's bustling city of Kumasi,
    where the locals toil as small merchants--and the ethnic
    neighborhoods of New York City, where young Ghanian immigrants strive
    to make modern wages in predominantly white America. First, on Zongo
    Street, the 91-year-old Uwargida, one of the four widows of the Hausa
    King, shuffles out nightly to regale the neighborhood children with
    scary mythological tales, such as the story of the eternal dueling
    between the devil boy and the priest in "The Story of Day and Night."
    In "Mallam Sile," the eponymous bachelor tea-seller on Zongo Street
    marries the big, strong lady named Abeeba, whose daunting brawn
    intimidates her husband's customers into settling their bills. "The
    Manhood Test" recounts hilariously the poignant events leading up to
    a husband's having to prove his virility to his wife publicly while
    the old-lady lafiree judges. In "Man Pass Man," the local swindler's
    mean tricks on people lead to a terrifying interview with the devil
    himself. Transplanted to America, Ghanians have to tread carefully
    amid the entrenched racism of whites. In "Rachmaninov," a young
    Ghanian artist hooks up drunkenly with a rich blonde American woman
    in the city and spends a terrifying night trying to sober her up
    rather than call 911 and risk a racial backlash. A Brooklyn musician
    in "The True Aryan" has to endure a tedious lecture in multicultural
    empathy by his Armenian cab driver; while the vulnerable domestic
    worker in "Live-in," Shatu, a widow seeking work to support her three
    children back in Ghana, undergoes hostility from her elderly Long
    Island charge and untoward attention from her employer.

    Overall, Ali shows an almost anthropological interest in his
    characters, and a keen eye for the humanistic detail: a richly
    rewarding cultural study.

    Publication Date: 08/01/2005
    Publisher: Amistad/HarperCollins
    Stage: Adult
    Star: 1
    ISBN: 0-06-052354-9
    Price: $22.95
    Author: Ali, Mohammed Naseehu
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