Karen King-Aribisala Bücher

Exploring her African roots, a young Guyanese woman embarks on a journey to write a historical novel about the 1823 Demerara Slave Rebellion. Her trip to Nigeria becomes a transformative experience, where the lines between her reality and her fictional narrative blur. The story is infused with tension, dark humor, and vivid characters, providing a deep examination of the intertwined histories of Guyana and Nigeria, as well as the dynamics of postcolonial power in both regions.

Bitter Leafing Woman, set in Nigeria, explores Woman's struggle against patriarchal oppression, symbolizing both women's and men's experiences. The writing style varies from plain prose to magical realism and social satire, addressing serious conflicts with sardonic humor and insight while highlighting the quest for gender balance.

Karen King-Aribisala brilliantly transposes Chaucer's Canterbury Tales to modern-day Nigeria in this magnificent tale of forty very different travellers thrown together on a bus journey from Lagos to the new capital, Abuja. Carefully selected by their hostess – an enigmatic figure who calls herself, 'The Black Lady The' – the passengers on this journey range from a wealthy tribal chief to a humble petrol pump attendant, from a rain-maker to a reserved woman observing purdah. They are united only by their dissatisfaction with Nigeria's chaotic and corrupt regime, a concern which is reflected in the widely differing stories they tell on their journey – bawdy tales, sharp satires, poignant narratives and moral fables. Blending poetry and prose, rich visual images, and witty puns, Karen King-Aribisala succeeds in transforming a fourteenth-century English classic into an exuberant and distinctively African work.