The Devil That Danced on the Water

The Devil That Danced on the Water: A Daughter's Quest is a 2002 book by Aminatta Forna about her childhood and an investigation into the execution of her father, Mohamed Forna. It was serialised as a Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4 and was runner-up for the 2003 Samuel Johnson Prize.

The Devil That Danced on the Water: A Daughter's Quest
AuthorAminatta Forna
LanguageEnglish
SubjectMemoir, Sierra Leone history
Published2002 (HarperCollins)
Publication placeScotland
Media typePrint (hardback)
Pages223
ISBN9780802140487
OCLC829656576

Reception

edit

Reviewing The Devil That Danced on the Water for The Guardian, Victoria Brittain wrote: "Aminatta Forna's story of her father's execution on trumped-up treason charges, 25 years before anyone had heard of the Revolutionary United Front, gives a more personal framework for understanding the horror of the 1990s in the linked wars of Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea."[1]

Booklist called it "stunning" and "an important look at the sad state of politics in Sierra Leone",[2] and the Library Journal saw it as "More than a tale of vindication, this book is filled with powerful descriptions and moving details and if overly long is nevertheless an important work."[2]

Christopher Hope, writing in The Independent, stated: "Forna has written a book that is impossible to forget, or to confuse with any other memoir of tyrannical times." and found it "an obsessive, driven, refreshing book about Africa, despotism and exile."[3]

The Devil That Danced on the Water has also been reviewed by Publishers Weekly,[4] Kirkus Reviews,[5] People,[6] Metro,[7] The New Yorker,[8] Confrontation,[9] and Entertainment Weekly.[10]

The Devil That Danced on the Water was on the shortlist for the 2003 Samuel Johnson Prize.[11] It was also Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4 and was serialised in the Sunday Times.[12][13]

Comparisons have been drawn between this work and Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria (2012) by Noo-Saro-Wiwa.[14]

References

edit
  1. ^ Brittain, Victoria (18 May 2002). "Books: The Truth about Daddy". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  2. ^ a b "The Devil That Danced on the Water: A Daughter's Quest: Reviews". catalog.wccls.org. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  3. ^ Hope, Christopher (25 May 2002). "Culture: Books: Reviews - The Devil That Danced on the Water, by Aminatta Forna". The Independent. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  4. ^ "A Time of AngelsThe Devil That Danced on the Water: A Daughter's Quest (starred review)". Publishers Weekly. PWxyz LLC. 4 November 2002. Retrieved 30 January 2017. Reminiscent of Isabelle Allende's House of the Spirits, Forna's work is a powerfully and elegantly written mix of complex history, riveting memoir and damning exposé.
  5. ^ "The Devil That Danced on the Water: A Daughter's Quest". Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Media LLC. 1 October 2002. Retrieved 30 January 2017. A searing indictment of African tyranny mingled with bittersweet childhood memories.
  6. ^ Lynn, Allison (February 2003). "The Devil That Danced on the Water (Book)". People. 59 (6). Time Inc: 43. Retrieved 30 January 2017.[dead link]
  7. ^ White, Margo; Rose Hoare (June 2003). "The Devil That Danced on the Water (Book)". Metro (264). Bauer Media: 97. Retrieved 30 January 2017.[dead link]
  8. ^ "The Devil That Danced on the Water (Book)". The New Yorker. 79 (1). Condé Nast: 201. 17 February 2003. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  9. ^ Tucker, Martin (March 2003). "Africa Dissenting". Confrontation (82): 331. Retrieved 30 January 2017.[dead link]
  10. ^ "The Week". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. February 2003. Retrieved 30 January 2017.[dead link]
  11. ^ "Devil that Danced on the Water: A Daughter's Memoir (HarperCollins)". thebailliegiffordprize.co.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  12. ^ "Aminatta Forna". BBC News. 24 September 2004. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  13. ^ "The Devil that Danced on the Water, a memoir". Aminatta Forna. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  14. ^ Gagiano, Annie (1 September 2019). "Recovering and recovering from an African past: four women's quest narratives". Journal of Transatlantic Studies. 17 (3): 269–289. doi:10.1057/s42738-019-00025-x. ISSN 1754-1018.