Recollections of the author's early childhood in a town in pre-independence Nigeria. The dreamlike patina of childhood adds a fascinating dimension to the myths and customs of a culture now lost (Soyinka is brief but brutal on the effects of post-colonial globalization on his homeland), and the stories of his loving, enlightened family, and precocious academic career are a joy. Beautifully written, funny and engaging, as good a work about childhood as you are likely to read. Lots of fun.

"'We have a farm on the way to Osiele, just outside the town.' That was true. I had accompanied Essay there once or twice but it was mostly cared for by a farmer whom he employed.
'Well, as I said, your father was raised here. He is a farmer's son. But I know his work doesn't give him much time to have a farm like this one. I mean, have you ever spent weeks on your farm?'
I shook my head.
'You see. What about a night?'
'Never,' I admitted."(136)
Change "father" to "mother", and I relate to this so much.

Pg 223 - 224, so much truth in this, I think.

This is super good, Soyinka is a wonderful writer. He has so beautifully conveyed what his life was like as a child, and very cleverly restricted his story to telling only what he knew as a child. The scene where a young Soyinka follows along behind a marching band and gets lost is delightful.

COMENTÁRIO
⭐⭐⭐
"Aké: os anos da infância"
Wole Soyinka
Tradução de Carolina Kuhn Facchin

Uma memória, um livro sobre a lembrança da meninice. Da primeira infância, das aprendizagens da escola, da leitura. Mas também da vida, dos relacionamentos sociais na família e na comunidade. Entre os mais velhos mas também com os seus pares.

Nigéria, anos 40. A guerra, estando distante, marca presença. Os tempos são duros. Mas naquela família tudo parece numa harmonia estranha.

Soyinka escreve um texto ternurento e que nos encanta. Mas... Falta algo. Senti me muitas vezes perdido na páginas escritas em que o narrador me faz ter a sensação de ausência de verosimilhança. Faltou fulgor a esta leitura.

One of those cases where the original version is much more vibrant than the translated version. For this reason, I'm won't input a rating until I have the chance to read the english version.

Soyinke shares with the world memories of his childhood in Ake and later going to school. Raised by an educator, what we would now term as a feminist and a community of well meaning adults allows for him to position and give importance to the characters equally and raise intersecting issues such as social justice, mental illness, class, ethnic differences, colonialism, race relations to name a few. A good read to relatively understand the lives of Africans who grew up on the 40s and 60s as well as why Africa stands where it is now.

Kind of disjointed but occasionally vivid autobiographical writing. A good character sketch of a precocious and difficult child, and also of a Nigerian village in the 1930s and 1940s. Ends with a rave-up account of a women's rights uprising, for some strange reason.

Aké is by far one of the richest books I have ever read. Soyinka is a master of the use of irony; I had to pause reading often to laugh at young Wole's remarks. It was truly captivating to learn about Colonial Nigeria though the perspective of a curious little boy who also happens to be a diligent observer. How Abeokuta women's strength, determination and courage in the Egba Women's Tax Riot (late 1940s) parallels the key role of the Feminist Coalition in the recent End SARS movement tells me that the future of Nigeria is in the hands of Nigerian women.

Wole Soyinka gets rave reviews as a writer. Ake, is the Nigerian town where Wole grew up a boy. This is the story of Wole's childhood memories of the town and its people. HIs memories of his mom and dad are especially vivid. He is the son of a very strict headmaster and Wole is expected to act appropriately at all times. Being young and incredibly inquisitive and curious, Wole gets into lots of trouble, both physically and emotionally. His relentless inquiry at such a young age causes concern for both of his parents. Wole keeps a close watch on the goings-on in his town. He watches as an unwed poor woman becomes pregnant and is driven out of town. He watches as his mom fights alongside other women in the village for the rights against unfair taxation. He listens to a leader of the women complain bitterly against the racist behavior of the whites using the "inhuman weapon" upon the Japanese when they should have bombed Germany instead. Wole tries to make sense out of the actions he sees and discussions he hears as a child. He remembers so many of his childhood experiences. One can infer that life as a boy in Ake shapes Wole's being and essence before he leaves Ake to attend a government school run by white men. As Wole thinks about his new school he adds, "It was time to commence the mental shifts for admittance to yet another irrational world of adults and their discipline."

Ake was an interesting read emanating Soyinka's sense of humour. Soyinka was a serial mischief maker and the wit with which he detailed his childhood mischievousness is quite interesting. I even saw a reflection of my own parental upbringing in Wole's story. I learnt how to avoid the stinging of bees from this narration. It is a book one could enjoy over glasses of red wine.

Delightful little vignettes of Soyinka's childhood, ages 3 to 12 or so, growing up the headmaster's son in rural Nigeria around WWII. Soyinka's narration gets right inside his childish mind, and readers are left to interpret events through those eyes and whatever context we can come up with. This works most of the time but sometimes left me confused, especially when Soyinka neglected to translate a few local words or fill in some blanks for foreign readers. Overall, I liked the stories: climbing special trees, dealing with grown ups, getting in trouble.

The last 50 pages are Soyinka's astonished witnessing of the Nigerian Women's Movement in which a women's group, originally formed by a few wealthy, educated women who wanted to school young wives in etiquette and cooking, turned into a powerhouse movement when their pupils were prevented from coming to class (which by then extended to literacy) by British tax agents. The two groups of women united, gathered force, and eventually marched on the local ruler who was operating as a tool for British colonists. Hundreds of women from the whole area shut down the government and demand an end to taxes on women, most of whom were barely feeding their families and could not pay. Soyinka's delighted shock at watching his mother become a leader of the movement was wonderful to undergo with him. This book felt so honest, like the author caught all the feelings he felt.

loved every word!