Ancestor Stones (2006) is a novel by British writer Aminatta Forna about the experiences of four women in a polygamous family in West Africa.
Author | Aminatta Forna |
---|---|
Country | Scotland |
Language | English |
Published | 2006 |
Publisher | Bloomsbury (UK) Atlantic Monthly Press (US) |
Media type | Print (Hardback) |
Pages | 317 |
ISBN | 9780747584797 |
OCLC | 65203382 |
Uzodinma Iweala of The New York Times, reviewing Ancestor Stones, "wanted to know more: how the characters feel about one another, not just how they feel about the chaotic events they’re describing."[1] Bernardine Evaristo, writing in The Guardian, described this book to be "a wonderfully ambitious novel written from the inside" and concluded "This is her [Forna's] first novel, but it is too sophisticated to read like one."[2]
Ancestor Stones has also been reviewed by Booklist,[3] Choice Reviews,[4] Library Journal,[5] Publishers Weekly,[6] Kirkus Reviews,[7] African Business,[8] Entertainment Weekly,[9] and The New Yorker.[10]
Forna conveys the complexity of life in small African villages ..
Ancestor Stones reads much like a memoir but--perhaps for that reason--is less compelling than her earlier work.
Because of the shifting time periods, the array of names, and the complicated family connections, the characters blend together, and it is difficult to identify each from one story to the next. However, Forna, .. beautifully crafts an intimate portrait of the evolution of one West African community.
Forna's work sheds light on the history of a long-struggling nation.
Forna (The Devil That Danced on the Water, 2003) creates, through the voices of these wizened creatures, a richly patterned mosaic of African culture and history.