The Prophet of Zongo Street: Stories

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 224 pages
• Published by: Amistad August 1, 2005
• ISBN 10 Number: 0060523549
• ASIN: B000H2MV44
• Book Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Weighs: 12 ounces

From Publishers Weekly
Vivid images of African life and familiar snippets of expatriate life infuse this debut collection by a Ghana-born writer and musician. On the fictional Zongo Street in Accra, young children gather around their grandmother to hear a creation story from "the time of our ancestors' ancestors' ancestors" in "The Story of Day and Night." In "Mallam Sille," a weak, 46-year-old virgin tea seller finds soulful strength in marriage to a dominant village woman. Other stories take place in and around New York City, depicting immigrants struggling with American culture and values. A Ghanaian caregiver vows not to "grow old in this country" in "Live-In," while in "The True Aryan," an African musician and an Armenian cabbie competitively compare tragic cultural histories on the ride from Manhattan to Brooklyn, achieving humanist understanding as they reach Park Slope: "I looked into his eyes, and with a sudden deep respect said to the man, 'I'll take your pain, too.' " Several stories close in a similarly magical, almost folkloric epiphany, as when sleep becomes an attempt "to bring calm to the pulsing heart of Man" in "The Manhood Test." Ali speaks melodiously but not always provocatively in these tales of transition and emigration. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
The first story in Ali's debut collection lovingly portrays the matron of a fictional Ghanaian community, Zongo Street, as she tells a tale to the rapt children at her feet. Ali wants to play that same role for his readers in each subsequent story, and does a fine job of telling straightforward, memorable tales. Himself an emigre from Ghana, Ali enjoys straddling the ocean between Africa and Brooklyn, varying from folkloric tales of life in Islamic Ghana to stories of immigrants not quite at home in crowded, secular New York. From students, to live-in caretakers, to artists, his American residents read as two-dimensional compared to their more complex counterparts in Africa, who include a town prankster, a stoic tea merchant, and a husband and wife whose sex life is common knowledge on Zongo Street. But in the end, it is the community Ali imagines that gives this collection its weight. And although his narrative style creates too much distance from his characters, Ali has created a fascinating world well worth visiting. Annie Tully
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: The Prophet of Zongo Street: Stories (Hardcover) Mohammed Naseehu Ali's gift is to be captivating. I have walked Zongo Street. Mo, thank you for guiding me there. I knew you as a wizard of the drum, I have found you to be a magician of the pen. Your pen dishes out phenomenal images with which I have never before been infused. Your talents continue to astound and impress me. Your real gift is the gift of yourself that you share so candidly. The Prophet of Zongo Street is delicious. Thank you. Now, where can I hear you play again? Will you be drumming at your book signings? Comment | | (Report this)