The Radio and Other Stories

Description

On moving into a new apartment abroad in his Bavarian hometown, the narrator realises that some of his possessions and elements of his new neighbourhood open a window into a flurry of memories, serving as allegorical threads to his childhood, self-consciousness and discovery of the world. What begins as a personal narrative quickly cedes to a social archaeology, inviting the reader/listener on a homegoing journey in the backdrop of Cameroon’s tottering democratic trajectory. Modulated with poetry and music, The Radio tunes in to diaspora, home, nation, education, existence, religion as well as Mbum popular culture, showcasing creative re-appropriation and re-mixing of global trends and icons in specific communities.

Praise for “The Radio and Other Stories”

“In The Radio and Other Stories, the scholar and the storyteller converge. The stories stir our emotions even as they prod our intellect. This is a fascinating collection that celebrates the tenacity of memory. In the end, the narrator presents a complex continuum of disparate realities that are made wholesome by his ability to impose a humane melody to the cacophonous inheritance falsely labeled as a postcolonial state. The prose flows seductively with stylistic versatility, and the reader is bound to return to this collection over and over again for engaging reflections.”
-Joyce Ashuntantang,
Author of Beautiful Fire, University of Hartford, USA

“These short stories, pulsating with the real, register the experiences of a child of today’s global space, navigating the local and the global. The multivocal, intertextual perspective is ingenious and innovative. Simply brilliant!”
-Eunice Ngongkum,
University of Yaoundé 1, Cameroon

“A fascinating life-narrative that humorously explores serious personal and collective experiences. The narratives are both affectively and cognitively stimulating and captivating.”
-CJ Odhiambo,
Moi University, Kenya

“Gil Ndi-Shang weaves a sequence of tales that are funny, touching, humorous but also haunting, unsettling and unnerving. It is a testament to life’s frail wonder and a rich lesson on the commonality of our humanity in an increasingly interconnected world.”
-Victor N. Gomia,
Delaware State University, USA

“This book is fraught with dangerous depths, menacing walks and spectacular escape routes… Gil Ndi-Shang has twisted an instant classic for students in African studies. A must-read for the students of African literature, critical theory, philosophy, sociology, psychology, media and cultural studies.”
-Moulay Driss El Maarouf,
Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdalla University, Fez, Morocco

“A great semi-autobiographical piece which puts the reader at the very heart of the storyline, gluing their attention to each line from start to finish. The perfect use of the second person singular (YOU) makes each reader a full part of the storytelling; a model of reader-centred writing.”
-Ras-I Mackinzeph,
Lyricist and Pedagogic Inspector of Philosophy,
Centre Region, Cameroon

“Sensitivity and keenness to detail are the hallmarks of this rich collection by Gil Ndi-Shang, in the same way as his travel memoir, Letter from America. In both, he successfully intertwines the local and the global. Moreover, through creative juxtaposition, the narrator oscillates between familiar landscapes in Cameroon and the ones he encounters during his sojourns in Europe and America. The Radio can be read as the entanglement between self and community, self and nation as well as the political consciousness of a global citizen.”
-Samuel Ndogo,
Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya

Contents

1. The Radio
2. The Shoe
3. The Bell
4. The Books
5. The Doctor
6. The Church
7. The Fringes
8. The Murtala
9. The Walls
10. The Nanga Hills