Abstract

This essay analyzes the strategies used by Angolan author Ondjaki (Ndalu de Almeida, 1977- ) to critique the control of Angolan media by the nation’s ruling party, the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), in four novels: Bom Dia Camaradas (2001), Quantas Madrugadas Tem a Noite (2004), AvóDezanove e o Segredo do Soviético (2008), and Os Transparentes (2012). In the first three novels, Ondjaki draws on narrative techniques associated with oral storytelling and magical realism to create unreliable, exaggerated accounts, which he uses to discredit similarly hyperbolic “official histories” propagated by Angolan news outlets. In his latest novel, however, Ondjaki tackles collusion between the MPLA and the Angolan press more directly, detailing a process by which corrupt government officials and their media lackeys generate news releases in the interests of the Angolan elite and at the expense of the public.

Highlights

  • For Angolan author Ondjaki (Ndalu de Almeida, 1977- ), literature offers a forum to discuss his nation’s “deepest wounds” (Martin and Moorman 42)

  • The Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA) runs all media with nationwide reach, including the country’s only daily newspaper, the Jornal de Angola, the Rádio Nacional de Angola (RNA), and Televisão Popular de Angola (TPA) (“Angola profile: Media”)

  • Discrediting the Magic: Unreliable Narration and Allegory in Ondjaki’s Luandan Novels Ondjaki’s public comments corroborate the views expressed by his storytellers, it is the relationship between the perspective of the narrator and that of another agent, the “implied author,” that determines the reliability of a text

Read more

Summary

Introduction

For Angolan author Ondjaki (Ndalu de Almeida, 1977- ), literature offers a forum to discuss his nation’s “deepest wounds” (Martin and Moorman 42) Of his five novels, four take place in post-independence Angola, in the capital city of Luanda: Bom Dia Camaradas (2001), Quantas Madrugadas Tem a Noite (2004), AvóDezanove e o Segredo do Soviético (2008) and Os Transparentes (2012).. The analysis considers the role that oral storytelling techniques play in the novels by focusing on Ondjaki’s first-person narrators and their admitted tendency to exaggerate and fabricate accounts It examines the relevance of recent theory on magical realism as it applies to Ondjaki’s somewhat ironic portrayal of supernatural events in Angola. Brothel matron AvóTeta asks if an impending solar eclipse is “coisa de deus ou feitiço dos americanos?” (109) In his novels, Ondjaki relies on narrative techniques often associated with magical realism to portray Luanda as a “surrealistic city.”. Ndalu pushes the bounds of credulity, his mention of details, including specific menu items and the number of servings of each, all of which are corroborated by his sisters, suggests an accurate representation of Papí’s orgiastic feast.

Discrediting the Magic
Putting the “Press” in Repression
Conclusion
Full Text
Paper version not known

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.