Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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35 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heart Wrenching, Repulsive, Genius, April 24, 2000
I have just finished reading this book a few hours ago, and although I have barely had time to digest its contents, it has to be considered a modern literary classic. I read it for a Western African history class, and although I think it helps to have a rudimentary understanding of Ghana's post-independence history, this novel definitely stands on its own literary merit. "The Man" (as he is referred to) is an honest and introspective individual torn apart by the corruption and greed of his society. This creates conflict between not only him and the majority of the world around him, but also between him and his family. This book speaks volumes of the nature of a society that has been decimated by the repressive rule of an entirely different culture. Ayi Kwei Armah weaves beautiful poetry, intellectual insight, and explicit (and at times repulsive- but that is the desired effect) imagery into his story. The reader can truly feel the struggle and search for balance of the man. Humorous at times, depressing at others, "The Beautyful Ones" is a moving masterpiece. "As he went down a shadow rose up the bottom wall to meet him, and it was his own."
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
West African Existentialism, January 13, 2001
Set during the last days of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first president and noted exponent of Pan-Africanism, this book chronicles the fortunes and misfortunes of "the man," the nameless focalizer of Armah's finely crafted novel, who struggles to retain some semblance of integrity, barely surviving in a country where corruption is "the national game." Intense, introspective, darkly melancholic but never misanthropic, Armah's novel celebrates a strong sense of hope in the midst of savage adversity, the small but not insignifcant victories that enable "the man" to live from day to day -- such existentia Africana is a philosophy forged on the anvil of hard toil and experience.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book, December 24, 1997
By A Customer
Armah's book is among the best. Dense and ponderous yet eloquent use of symbolism is what made this book most enjoyable for me. A great introduction to Ghanaian literature, it captures many aspects of life there, past and present, with wonderful adeptness. Utilizing beautiful imagery, the style is very fluid, while leaving diverse impressions. Though the overall tone is something of a justified bitter, this book leaves the sweet aftertaste only fulfilling reading can and a yearning for more of Armah's masterful writing.
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