Waiting For an Angel [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

Habila's novel opens in a Nigerian prison where Lomba, a young reporter, secretly writes poetry with a pencil and paper he's forbidden to have. When the superintendent discovers Lomba's writing supplies, he has an odd request: he wants Lomba to write love poems to his sweetheart. From Lomba's imprisonment, the story moves backward and in a series of closely connected stories shows Lomba's life before his incarceration and the fateful choice--to report on a demonstration on Poverty Street--that leads to his arrest. Violence and abject poverty surround Lomba; his university roommate loses his grip on reality after the death of his family and falls victim to some brutal police officers, while his first love, Alice, forces herself to marry a rich man who pays her mother's hospital bills. Lomba tries to hide from the reality of the world he lives in until an activist named Joshua begs him to cover a demonstration he is leading. The oppressive atmosphere of Nigeria in the 1990s drives Habila's powerful novel. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine andere Ausgabe: Gebundene Ausgabe .

Nigerian author Habila's debut novel is a noble account of how even the poorest and lowliest people must rise up against oppression, regardless of the consequences. Habila tells the story of Lomba as he goes from student to failed novelist to journalist to political prisoner, trying to retain his dignity despite the corruption and violence that has contaminated every part of Nigerian society. As, one by one, those he loves or cares about are battered in one way or another by the regime, Lomba realizes that he must take action, however small, in order to remain human. While an afterword explains the history of Nigeria's brutal juntas, it is Habila's fictionalization that reveals the true casualties of oppression better than any news account or history. Each chapter could stand on its own as a short story-the first section received the 2001 Caine Prize for African Writing-but together they form a powerful portrait of a people beaten down by poverty and violence but not destroyed by them. Recommended for all public libraries.
Ellen Flexman, Indianapolis-Marion Cty. P.L., IN
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine andere Ausgabe: Gebundene Ausgabe .

In elegant, economical, and often lyrical prose, Habila captures the state of terror under which Nigerians were forced to live.

WAITING FOR AN ANGEL marks the debut of one of Africa's most promising new writers. Lomba is a young journalist living under military regime in Lagos, one of the most dangerous cities in the world. His mind is full of soul music and girls and thenovel he is writing. But his room-mate goes mad and is beaten up by soldiers, his first love is forced to marry a man she doesn't love, and his neighbours are planning a demo which is bound to incite riot and arrests. Lomba can no longer bury his head in the sand. He must write the truth about this reign of terror . . . WAITING FOR AN ANGEL captures the despair, the frenzy and the stubborn hope of a generation daring to speak out against one of the world's most oppressive regimes.

"Waiting For an Angel" marks the debut of one of Africa's most promising new writers. Lomba is a young journalist living under military regime in Lagos, one of the most dangerous cities in the world. His mind is full of soul music and girls and the novel he is writing. But his room-mate goes mad and is beaten up by soldiers, his first love is forced to marry a man she doesn't love, and his neighbours are planning a demo which is bound to incite riot and arrests. Lomba can no longer bury his head in the sand. He must write the truth about this reign of terror ..."Waiting For an Angel" captures the despair, the frenzy and the stubborn hope of a generation daring to speak out against one of the world's most oppressive regimes.

Helon Habila was born in 1967 in Nigeria. This is his first book.