Tragedy in the Anglophone West African Novel

Most critics have not recognized the need for a comprehensive analysis of tragedy in the West African novel. Is there a place for tragedy in the novel? What is tragedy for the Anglophone West African novelist? What is the future of the tragic novel in West Africa? These are some of the fundamental questions, which this study sets out to answer. In this seminal study, and using works of writers such as Achebe, Armah, Nwapa, Buchi Emecheta, Ifeoma Okoye, Lekan Oyegoke, Asare Konadu, John Munonye and Nigerian War novelists, Dr Nwahunanya presents fresh insights and adds new vigour even in his reexamination and reinterpretation of old positions. From his in-depth and comprehensive analysis of the various ramifications of tragedy, Dr Nwahunanya insists that the tragic mode has been dominant, though unrecognized, in the Anglophone West African novel. His findings are quite insightful. This study reveals that tragedy in the Anglophone West African novel is partly the destabilization of the community by alien influences, and partly the experience of waste and loss arising from war. Tragedy is also unmitigated and undeserved suffering that piles up for a helpless man who seems to be a victim of malevolent forces. In the Anglophone West African novel, it is tragedy when women remain childless after many years of marriage, and thus become the pitiable recipients of the taunts of heartless relations, mothers-in-law and husbands, especially when they are made to feel inferior while playing roles based on gender relations. And it is most tragic when potential saviors of the society are subjected to the kind of rejection and suffering that alienates them and frustrates their crusade for moral decency, especially when the society suffers from moral atrophy. In addition to his findings, Dr Nwahunanya's bibliography is a gold mine for contemporary researchers.Nwahunanya, Chinyere is the author of 'Tragedy in the Anglophone West African Novel' with ISBN 9781418452353 and ISBN 1418452351.