Kwasi Edward Michael Dankoh lives his life stuck between ethnicities and worlds. When he is caught up in a scandalous relationship and blamed for a resulting tragic death, he is ostracized by his town and forced to find a new life for himself. His life takes him from Ghana to Senegal, and finally to an illegal immigrant community in France. Eddie, as he comes to be known, is a compelling character, but there is too much assumed knowledge of the various African cultures here. It is hard to decipher just what is scandalous about his early relationship and what exactly happens to the woman whose death is blamed on him. Later, when Eddie leaves for France this is treated as a tragedy by his family, but again, without an understanding of the culture it is hard to see why. Still, Schwartzman is originally a poet and the beauty of his writing carries the reader through the story. --Marta Segal Block
Description:
From Publishers Weekly
Schwartzman's debut novel bears testament to his background as a poet, as lush description and bright, playful prose chronicle the travails of Kwasi Edward Michael Dankoh, aka Eddie Signwriter. Born in independent Ghana and raised by his father in Botswana, Kwasi grows up an introspective young man often perceived to be an outsider. His solitude is broken when he meets Celeste, and their adolescent romance blossoms until it runs into a scandal—the death of Celeste's aunt—that sends Kwasi packing. He ends up as an apprentice signwriter and eventually starts a successful business of his own that meets a ruinous end after Celeste briefly reappears. In a surprisingly upbeat treatment of human trafficking and illegal immigration, Kwasi arrives in Paris and joins a community of African immigrants who congregate at a secret club located in a cellar beneath a flower shop. As Kwasi strives to redefine himself through his new life and a new love, aspects of his past remain less than hidden. This wide-ranging and gorgeously written novel has huge heart, and Kwasi's quest for identity is as sad as it is uplifting. (Mar.)
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From
Kwasi Edward Michael Dankoh lives his life stuck between ethnicities and worlds. When he is caught up in a scandalous relationship and blamed for a resulting tragic death, he is ostracized by his town and forced to find a new life for himself. His life takes him from Ghana to Senegal, and finally to an illegal immigrant community in France. Eddie, as he comes to be known, is a compelling character, but there is too much assumed knowledge of the various African cultures here. It is hard to decipher just what is scandalous about his early relationship and what exactly happens to the woman whose death is blamed on him. Later, when Eddie leaves for France this is treated as a tragedy by his family, but again, without an understanding of the culture it is hard to see why. Still, Schwartzman is originally a poet and the beauty of his writing carries the reader through the story. --Marta Segal Block