Sozaboy [Paperback]

Ken Saro-Wiwa (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0582236991 | ISBN-13: 978-0582236998 | Edition: 1

Sozaboy describes the fortunes of a young naive recruit in the Nigerian Civil War: from the first proud days of recruitment to the disillusionment, confusion and horror that follows. The author's use of 'rotten English' - a mixture of Nigerian pidgin English, broken English and idiomatic English - makes this a unique and powerful novel.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'This is both a novel of self-discovery and an indictment of a corrupt and muddled war a kind of sombre picaresque lifted by the vivacity of its language' Helen Birch, City Limits William Boyd, who has written the introduction to Sozaboy, has described the author as 'an extraordinary man and an extraordinary writer.'

About the Author

Ken Saro-Wiwa, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996, was a novelist, publisher, journalist and human rights activist. He was a committed and tireless campaigner on human rights and environmental issues. In November 1995 he was executed by the Nigerian authorities.

Product Details

• Paperback: 188 pages
• Publisher: Longman; 1 edition (April 28, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0582236991
• ISBN-13: 978-0582236998
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #376,070 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars interesting and quite revealing, January 28, 2000

By 

Olumide Ogunremi - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sozaboy (Paperback)

Ken Saro Wiwa was one of the rising stars of Nigerian Literature coming after the legendary triumvirate of Achebe,Soyinka and John Pepper Clarke-Bekederemo till his voice was cut down inhis prime.The setting of the novel is an African Country which he does not mention though it is obviously Nigeria.It tells a harrowing tale of a soldier who joins the war not understanding what he is fighting for.The narrator is a naive apprentice driver who ends up in prisoner of war camps,refugee camps and witnesses the wanton destruction finally becoming disillusioned he walks away from it all only to discover the loss of all he holds dear.The language in which it is written is actually a form of speaking common in NIGERIA it is a beautiful mix of corrupted English words transposed with direct translations from African languages.There is a glossary that will be usefull to those unfamiliar with this.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh God our father, why did you make man as wicked as that with his own brother?, January 13, 2009

By 

Luc REYNAERT (Beernem, Belgium) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sozaboy (Paperback)

Ken Saro-Wiwa's `Sozaboy' is one of the most poignant anti-war novels ever written.

It is the story of a young apprentice driver for whom all uniformed human beings are heroes ... until he becomes one himself. Fighting on both sides of the front line and not knowing exactly for whom, it becomes clear to him that `little soldiers' are only `dead bodies' in the hands of corrupt powermongerers (generals, politicians, businessmen).
His whole world breaks down: why are people continuing to make children in this hellish world?

This brutal and shocking masterpiece is a must read for all those interested in world literature. Its phrasing in `rotten English' gives it a particularly tragic accent.

Ken Saro-Wiwa's death is also an utmost tragical one. He was condemned for `high treason' and hanged, because he defended his ogoni people against the ravages of their territory by an international oil company. A crime against humanity.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comments on "Sozaboy", February 28, 2009

By 

Reinhold Schlieper - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sozaboy (Paperback)

Ken Saro-Wiwa's book brings us face to face with people we otherwise only see at a distance on TV as masses being hurled about by chaos and war. We see the world through the eyes of the "soldier boy" himself, a world that is perhaps alien to us at first but that increases in familiarity with every increase in compassion and identification with the main character, whom we get to know increasingly as a real human being who lives life differently but fundamentally on our terms also. The novel is a "must read" for anyone who tries to come to terms with the realities of the Third World.