The more Chike saw the ferry-boats the more he wanted to make the trip to Asaba. But where would he get the money? He did not know. Still, he hoped.
Eleven-year-old Chike longs to cross the Niger River to the city of Asaba, but he doesn’t have the sixpence he needs to pay for the ferry ride. With the help of his friend S.M.O.G., he embarks on a series of adventures to help him get there. Along the way, he is exposed to a range of new experiences that are both thrilling and terrifying, from eating his first skewer of suya under the shade of a mango tree, to visiting the village magician who promises to double the money in his pocket. Once he finally makes it across the river, Chike realizes that life on the other side is far different from his expectations, and he must find the courage within him to make it home.
Chike and the River is a magical tale of boundaries, bravery, and growth, by Chinua Achebe, one of the world’s most beloved and admired storytellers.
Chike and the River
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“African literature is incomplete and unthinkable without the works of Chinua Achebe.” —Toni Morrison
“This light work by the boundlessly talented Achebe follows Chike, an 11-year-old boy whose adventures comprise neat little life lessons . . . . Rodriguez’s charming illustrations add texture to a classic children’s story.” –Publishers Weekly
“This light work by the boundlessly talented Achebe follows Chike, an 11-year-old boy whose adventures comprise neat little life lessons . . . . Rodriguez’s charming illustrations add texture to a classic children’s story.” –Publishers Weekly
About the Author
Chinua Achebe was born in Nigeria in 1930. His first novel, Things Falls Apart, became a classic of international literature and required reading for students worldwide. He also authored four subsequent novels, two short-story collections, and numerous other books. He was the David and Marianna Fisher University Professor and Professor of Africana Studies at Brown University and, for over 15 years, was the Charles P. Stevenson Jr. Professor of Languages and Literature at Bard College. In 2007, Achebe was awarded the Man Booker International Prize for lifetime achievement. He died in 2013.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Back in 1966, Chinua Achebe's wrote a gentle, touching story of an eleven-year-old Nigerian boy, Chike. He has to leave his beloved small village and his family behind and live with his uncle in the city Onitsha, on the shores of the Niger River, so that he can continue his schooling. It is a charming tale about finding your way in a totally new environment and learning some important life lessons about loyalty, honesty, courage and the strength and limits of dreams. CHIKE AND THE RIVER has been reissued in this very attractive presentation, illustrated with simple, wood-cut like images in black, ochre red and ivory yellow. It fits beautifully into the publisher's series of Chinua Achebe's publications. Best known for his first novel, Things Fall Apart, published in 1958, Chinua Achebe is revered as the father of the African novel and THE standard for African fiction writing.
While Chike is first excited by the prospect of living in the big city, he soon misses his mother and siblings as well as the relative safety and predictability of life in the village. There, "every thief was known, but in the city even people who lived under the same roof were strangers to each other..." Seeing the new life through the eyes of the young boy, Achebe conveys realistically the opportunities and difficulties Chike sees ahead of him. He learns quickly about friends he can trust and those he shouldn't. His closest school friend tells him how "easy" it is to cross the Niger by ferry, for only one shilling for the return trip. The urge to take the ferry to the other side of the wide delta increases in intensity with time, he HAS to find the money to do so. The search for money opportunities lead him into a range of situations that take him closer or further away from his goal. Which route to take? What awaits him on the other side will change his life forever... While Achebe evokes specific Nigerian scenarios, his underlying messages are general, even universal.
Chinua Achebe is a story teller, who is deeply attached to his people's traditions and values. Yet, he is also a committed educator. In this relatively uncomplicated story he conveys, nonetheless, atmosphere and day-to-day reality of both, rural and urban, African life, evoked by his comparisons of village and city. Readers of THINGS FALL APART may remember the fictional village setting of Umuofia. He continues its imagined existence in this novella. While written more than forty years ago, much of the underlying issues and realities are still relevant today in African countries and elsewhere. Children are still sent off to relatives who can better afford to look after them and their education. Children still feel lonely and lost in new environments and align themselves to real or false friends. They still yearn as much to travel to places they have dreamed of or can even see in the distance, (literally or figuratively) on the other side of a river and get themselves into potential trouble for taking such an initiative into their own inexperienced hands.
Is this a book for children? Yes and no. While usually categorized as a children's story, I wonder how much young readers in our society today can appreciate this for what it is: both a social portrait and introduction of another society and culture and a growing up story with lessons that are important as they are timeless. I prefer to describe CHIKE AND THE RIVER as a story for "children of all ages"; those who have remained young at heart will enjoy this tale. It is also a lovely book to share with the children in our lives. There is much to talk about in this book that both informs about life and realities in an African country and much that transcends our respective cultures. [Friederike Knabe]
While Chike is first excited by the prospect of living in the big city, he soon misses his mother and siblings as well as the relative safety and predictability of life in the village. There, "every thief was known, but in the city even people who lived under the same roof were strangers to each other..." Seeing the new life through the eyes of the young boy, Achebe conveys realistically the opportunities and difficulties Chike sees ahead of him. He learns quickly about friends he can trust and those he shouldn't. His closest school friend tells him how "easy" it is to cross the Niger by ferry, for only one shilling for the return trip. The urge to take the ferry to the other side of the wide delta increases in intensity with time, he HAS to find the money to do so. The search for money opportunities lead him into a range of situations that take him closer or further away from his goal. Which route to take? What awaits him on the other side will change his life forever... While Achebe evokes specific Nigerian scenarios, his underlying messages are general, even universal.
Chinua Achebe is a story teller, who is deeply attached to his people's traditions and values. Yet, he is also a committed educator. In this relatively uncomplicated story he conveys, nonetheless, atmosphere and day-to-day reality of both, rural and urban, African life, evoked by his comparisons of village and city. Readers of THINGS FALL APART may remember the fictional village setting of Umuofia. He continues its imagined existence in this novella. While written more than forty years ago, much of the underlying issues and realities are still relevant today in African countries and elsewhere. Children are still sent off to relatives who can better afford to look after them and their education. Children still feel lonely and lost in new environments and align themselves to real or false friends. They still yearn as much to travel to places they have dreamed of or can even see in the distance, (literally or figuratively) on the other side of a river and get themselves into potential trouble for taking such an initiative into their own inexperienced hands.
Is this a book for children? Yes and no. While usually categorized as a children's story, I wonder how much young readers in our society today can appreciate this for what it is: both a social portrait and introduction of another society and culture and a growing up story with lessons that are important as they are timeless. I prefer to describe CHIKE AND THE RIVER as a story for "children of all ages"; those who have remained young at heart will enjoy this tale. It is also a lovely book to share with the children in our lives. There is much to talk about in this book that both informs about life and realities in an African country and much that transcends our respective cultures. [Friederike Knabe]
By Tony Montana
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A delightful little boy for kids. I bought this book for my 7 year old kid. The setting is at the towns Onitsha and Asaba in Nigeria and the story centers on the many adventures of a boy called Chike. I recommend the book to kids as well as adults who want to know a little of Nigeria of the 1960s. I enjoyed the book as well as my kid did!
By Troy Johnson
Format:Paperback
Nigerian author Chinua Achebe came to fame in 1958 upon the publication of Things Fall Apart, which remains to this day the best-selling piece of literature by an African author. Many might not realize that Achebe also found time to write for kids too. Chike and the River, is a poignant, coming-of-age tale about a young boy who moves from his village to the city to be raised by his uncle in the wake of the death of his father.
At the point of departure, we find the young hero hesitant to leave home. However, he soon makes friends and is forced to mature quickly in an intimidating metropolis where all manner of dangers lurk. Rather than spoil any of the plot developments, suffice to say that this page-turner proceeds to embroil the protagonist in an intriguing whodunit while harking back to a simpler era when folks were far more innocent, even the bad guys.
Chike and the River is a heartwarming fable which stands the test of time by virtue of an enduring universal appeal regardless of one's age or cultural background.
Read the full review and more book reviews from AALBC.com on your Kindle Edition
At the point of departure, we find the young hero hesitant to leave home. However, he soon makes friends and is forced to mature quickly in an intimidating metropolis where all manner of dangers lurk. Rather than spoil any of the plot developments, suffice to say that this page-turner proceeds to embroil the protagonist in an intriguing whodunit while harking back to a simpler era when folks were far more innocent, even the bad guys.
Chike and the River is a heartwarming fable which stands the test of time by virtue of an enduring universal appeal regardless of one's age or cultural background.
Read the full review and more book reviews from AALBC.com on your Kindle Edition
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