Magical Realism in West African Fiction

Taylor & Francis

This book focuses on the cultural politics of magical realism, as exemplified in the fiction of Syl Cheney-Coker, Ben Okri and Kojo Laing and contextualizes their fiction within current debate. > This study contextualizes magical realism within current debates and theories of postcoloniality and examines the fiction of three of its West African pioneers: Syl Cheney-Coker of Sierra Leone, Ben Okri of Nigeria and Kojo Laing of Ghana. Brenda Cooper explores the distinct elements of the genre in a West African context, and in relation to:* a range of global expressions of magical realism, from the work of Gabriel Garcia Marquez to that of Salman Rushdie* wider contemporary trends in African writing, with particular attention to how the realism of authors such as Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka has been connected with nationalist agendas.This is a fascinating and important work for all those working on African literature, magical realism, or postcoloniality. > Chapter 1 Seeing with a.