London : J. Cape, 1991. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine cloth copy in an equally fine dust-wrapper. Price-clipped. Particularly well-preserved overall; tight, bright, clean and especially sharp-cornered. Physical description: 500 pages ; 24cm. Subjects: Magic ; Fiction.

Synopsis

Ben Okri is a Nigerian poet and novelist who is often described as one of Africa's greatest writers. The Famished Road is the 1991 winner of the Man Booker prize. This unusual story is set in the ghetto of an unnamed city in West Africa. The narrator-protagonist Azaro is about seven years of age who flits between the spirit world of dreams and the heart-wrenching slums of poverty. He is described as an abiku or spirit-child. The abiku are said to be constantly coming and going between our world and the spirit-world. But when the newly-born Azaro first sees the sad and beautiful face of his mother, he decides to stop the unrelenting cycle of dying and being reborn. He decides to stay among the living. The story follows him as he tries to live his life, always aware of the spirits trying to bring him back. Okri captivates the reader with this richly descriptive novel.

Reviews

On Jan 24 2007, Fict said:

Good, but perhaps a little too prone to wander into surrealism for some.

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Details

Bookseller: MW Books Ltd. (IE)
Bookseller's Inventory #: 291940
Title: The famished road
Author: Okri, Ben
Format/Binding: Hardcover
Book Condition: Used
Quantity Available: 1
Edition: First Edition
ISBN 10: 0224027018
ISBN 13: 9780224027014
Publisher: London : J. Cape
Place of Publication: London
Date Published: 1991

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Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

First Edition: In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
Cloth: "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
Fine: A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
Tight: Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.