ReviewsA NOTHER COMMENT FROM TAL AVIV ON HAMA TUMA’S BOOK Posted on June 25, 2009 by amnewsupdate Dear Friends, Rarely does a reader bump into a book he doesn’t want to finish reading so much that he is angry with the writer who didn’t “bother” writing another 100 pages. For me “The Case of the Socialist Witchdoctor” is one of those priceless pieces of work. I normally read a lot but I don’t remember ever being sorry ending a book of such high standard. I might be a little bit exaggerating but subjectively this is how I feel. Add to this the fact that the writer is Ethiopian and anonymous but still – this is a masterpiece. The book handles a terrifying period. Stalin had many students who were even “better” than him, improving the system up to a total madness. The reality in the book is insane, shocking and we can only grip it through humor, wittiness and logic giving the impression of a constant absurdity. So this is the book and I have no intension of lending it to you so go out and buy yourself a copy. Respectfully, Avital Inbar
הרשו לי המליץ לכם בחום על הספר האתיופי - נכון – שאני מסתובב איתו בחוצות העיר וקורא בו בשבועיים האחרונים, לאט לאט כדי שלא ייגמר מהר. לא תרגמתי אותו (אבל התרגום של דורי פרנס משובח) - מה שמקנה להמלצתי יתר תוקף. וכדי לא להרבות בכתיבה ביקשתי מהמו”לית המכורה-לאיכות שרי גוטמן (תרגמתי בשבי9 Cה את פרספוליס 2 שראה אור לאחרונה) את הקומוניקט, כדי שתדעו במה מדובר, ואת העטיפה, שלא תבלבלו בין ספר זה לשאר יצירות אתיופיות מתורגמות המציפותאת שווקינו. רק לעיתים נדירות מזדמן לקורא ספר שהוא אינו רוצה שיסתיים, וכועס על הסופר שלא טרח וכתב עוד מאה עמודים. מבחינתי, “פרשת המכשף הסוציאליסט” הוא אחד מאותן יצירות יקרות המציאות. אני קורא הרבה, ומאז “בחירתה של סופי” מאת סטיירון לא זכור לי ספר שמפאת איכותו הצטערתי שנגמר. ייתכן שבעיניים אובייקטיבות אני קצת “נסחף”, אבל בתחושותי הסובייקטיביות, זה בדיוק כך. ולזה תוסיפו את מקדם ההפתעה – ספר אתיופי, סופר אלמוני, ועם זאת פנינה. התקפה שמתאר הספר נוראה. ליוסיף סטלין היו ברחבי עולם תלמידים שעלו על רבם. ושיכללו את השיטה לכדי טרוף עוד יותר מוחלט. המציאות שבספר מטורפת, בלתי-נתפסת, ונשק ההתמודדות של האדם בכלל ושל הסופר הוא ה הומור השנון והשכל הישר היוצרים תחושה של אבסורד תמידי מרנין. בקיצור, זה “ה”ספר. ואין לי כוונה להשאיל אותו, כי בדרך כלל, מהספרים שמשאילים, חוזרים רק הבינוניים ומטה. אז לכו לקנות. בהוקרה אביטל נ.ב. למשפטים שביניכם: הספר כולו מתרחש בין כותלי בית משפט שאין אדם שפוי בעולמנו שהיה מוכן להיות בו.
The Case of the Socialist Witchdoctor and Other Stories World Literature Today , Summer, 1994 by Robert P. Smith, Jr. The Case of the Socialist Witchdoctor and Other Stories collects twenty-three short stories written in the early eighties. The author Hama Tuma states that the characters are fictitious and that the names of organizations and institutions have only coincidental resemblance to actual existing ones. The brief but very informative introduction written by Ngugi wa Thiongo prepares the appetite of the reader for the great variety of images of Ethiopia and Africa, past and present, real and unreal: "Tuma brilliantly captures the contradictions that make up the real Ethiopia of the twentieth century." An author's note, a prologue, and a glossary accompany the text, which is divided into two parts. The twelve tales in part 1, entitled "The Case of the Socialist Witchdoctor and Other Stories," tell of the author's presence in court, where he witnesses historic cases because he has nothing better to do: "Thanks to Amnesty we have at least a show to go and see." The focus of these court proceedings is the Ethiopian and his struggle against natural and human obstacles, but it is really the repressive regime in Ethiopia that is on trial. What the narrator observes and the reflections which grow out of his observations form a bitter satiric review, at times humorous, of Ethiopian contemporary society and social and political institutions, covering a great variety of subjects, from war and oppressive methods of government, through superstition and racial and color prejudice, to pain, poverty, and imprisonment. In the volume's title story the author exploits the notion on the part of colonialists and modern liberals of the "some-of-my-best-friends-are-black-variety" that blacks are a superstitious lot. At another moment he chides the Ethiopian rumor-mongers who allege that witchdoctors have in fact become nationalized by the state. The defendant in this case, in reality an intellectual, is accused of having functioned underground with his brand of witchcraft and thus worked against the state like an opposition political party. He is sentenced to lifelong hard labor, to be preceded by three years of psychiatric treatment in the central military hospital, and is ordered to be kept totally silent for the duration of his sentence. The eleven items in part 2, "Tales of the Highway Fire and Other Stories," continue to show the author's powerful and original mind, as well as his preoccupation with such lofty characteristics as love, honor, solidarity, heroism, and hope. Interspersed among these stories are several which concern betrayal and vengeance, pity and euthanasia, and the sublime and the grotesque. Of particular interest is "Ten on the Terror Scale," which has to do with the art of storytelling in Ethiopia, and a narrated account of a strange world of talking body parts. Hama Tuma's tales admirably illustrate the spirit that prevails widely under oppressive regimes in Africa today. Dreadful though they may be in content, these excellently written stories combine the satire and imagination of a Montesquieu and the inventiveness, humor, and oral tradition of a Bernard Dadie, a Birago Diop, and others.
Robert P. Smith Jr. Rutgers University COPYRIGHT 1994 University of Oklahoma
Category:Fiction - Anthologies (multiple authors)
. The Anchor Book of Modern African Stories showcases the most innovative writing to arise from the continent. From internationally recognized authors such as Nigeria ’s Ben Okri, to newcomer Leila Aboulela from Sudan , together the contributors offer compelling testimonies of life in the midst of historic upheaval. Rich, dense, and topical, this collection is an indispensable guide to the emerging canon of contemporary African fiction.
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