Kirkus Reviews
May 1, 2005
THE PROPHET OF ZONGO STREET;
Stories
Ten lively, polished stories from Ghanian-American writer Ali about
the transformation of Africa from old country to new.
Ali’s tales alternate between a hometown setting of Zongo Street–a
densely populated neighborhood of Ghana’s bustling city of Kumasi,
where the locals toil as small merchants–and the ethnic
neighborhoods of New York City, where young Ghanian immigrants strive
to make modern wages in predominantly white America. First, on Zongo
Street, the 91-year-old Uwargida, one of the four widows of the Hausa
King, shuffles out nightly to regale the neighborhood children with
scary mythological tales, such as the story of the eternal dueling
between the devil boy and the priest in “The Story of Day and Night.”
In “Mallam Sile,” the eponymous bachelor tea-seller on Zongo Street
marries the big, strong lady named Abeeba, whose daunting brawn
intimidates her husband’s customers into settling their bills. “The
Manhood Test” recounts hilariously the poignant events leading up to
a husband’s having to prove his virility to his wife publicly while
the old-lady lafiree judges. In “Man Pass Man,” the local swindler’s
mean tricks on people lead to a terrifying interview with the devil
himself. Transplanted to America, Ghanians have to tread carefully
amid the entrenched racism of whites. In “Rachmaninov,” a young
Ghanian artist hooks up drunkenly with a rich blonde American woman
in the city and spends a terrifying night trying to sober her up
rather than call 911 and risk a racial backlash. A Brooklyn musician
in “The True Aryan” has to endure a tedious lecture in multicultural
empathy by his Armenian cab driver; while the vulnerable domestic
worker in “Live-in,” Shatu, a widow seeking work to support her three
children back in Ghana, undergoes hostility from her elderly Long
Island charge and untoward attention from her employer.
Overall, Ali shows an almost anthropological interest in his
characters, and a keen eye for the humanistic detail: a richly
rewarding cultural study.
Publication Date: 08/01/2005
Publisher: Amistad/HarperCollins
Stage: Adult
Star: 1
ISBN: 0-06-052354-9
Price: $22.95
Author: Ali, Mohammed Naseehu