Ake
The Years of Childhood
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group · Print & ebook · October 23, 1989
A dazzling memoir of an African childhood from Nobel Prize-winning Nigerian novelist, playwright, and poet Wole Soyinka.
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- Who it’s for
- A curious child’s-eye memoir blends lyrical detail, humor, and the textures of Yoruba life.
- Themes
- Childhood and growing up, Christian and Yoruba traditions, Prewar and wartime village life
- Genres
- Cultural Heritage Lives, Writers' Lives
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Start with this bookAbout this book
A dazzling memoir of an African childhood from Nobel Prize-winning Nigerian novelist, playwright, and poet Wole Soyinka. Aké: The Years of Childhood gives us the story of Soyinka's boyhood before and during World War II in a Yoruba village in western Nigeria called Aké.
Continue reading
A relentlessly curious child who loved books and getting into trouble, Soyinka grew up on a parsonage compound, raised by Christian parents and by a grandfather who introduced him to Yoruba spiritual traditions. His vivid evocation of the colorful sights, sounds, and aromas of the world that shaped him is both lyrically beautiful and laced with humor and the sheer delight of a child's-eye view. A classic of African autobiography, Aké is also a transcendantly timeless portrait of the mysteries of childhood.
Childhood in Full Color
A curious child’s-eye memoir blends lyrical detail, humor, and the textures of Yoruba life.
Come here for
- Vivid sights, sounds, and aromas rendered with literary care
- A childhood shaped by Christian and Yoruba spiritual traditions
Expect
- Humor alongside reflection on childhood’s mysteries
- An immersive memoir, not a tidy lesson in history
Where it sits
| Writers' Lives | 78% |
|---|---|
| Cultural Heritage Lives | 61% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Cultural Heritage Lives
- Writers' Lives
- West African History
- Authors
- Wole Soyinka
- Publisher
- Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
- Published
- October 23, 1989
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Childhood and growing up · Christian and Yoruba traditions · Prewar and wartime village life
- Reading lane
- Cultural Heritage Lives