Money Galore (African Writers Series, AWS161)
₵55.00
This witty, extravagant but seriously intended satire marks the arrival of Ghana’s answer to T.M. Aluko. Abraham Kofi Kafu finds teaching a hard grind and lacking in rewards. He stands for the Liberation Party, the party of businessmen, landlords, smallholders and taxi drivers. As Minister of Internal Welfare, Kafu pursues his political career with a lively devotion to women, drink, gambling and skulduggery of various kinds and an almost total aversion to work unless it is devoted to some personal end. He is supported by a large cast: a crooked but amiable contractor, Anson Berko; a less amiable and even more crooked contractor, Nee Otu Lartey; the Permanent Secretary, Mr Vuga, an ineffably dreary civil servant who strives to manipulate Kafu as he has manipulated previous Ministers but also turns out to be as crooked and so is subject to blackmail; the slimy Reverend Dan Opia Sese, who takes over as headmaster from Benjy Baisi and seduces Kafu’s maid. But even Kafu cannot get away with it for ever.
by Nana Awere Damoah
AG’s Book Adventures
July 25 2019
#BookReview: Money Galore
#Author: Amu Djoleto 🇬🇭
Type of work (Genre): Fiction
Number of pages: 183
Own or Borrowed: Own (gift from a dear friend)
#ReadIt: at home & work (during breaks)
#OverallImpressions: I enjoyed reading this book although I found the applicability of its political themes from the 1970s to our more recent political dispensation quite chilling. Not much has changed in the 40+ years since the writing of this book. This is nothing short of distressing. I loved how Amu setup the entitlement mentality that is central to the rise and subsequent prominence of those politicians, of whom exist many, that enter the field for selfish gains while convincing others and themselves to an extent, of their capacities and good intentions. The central character, Abraham Kofi Kafu, makes several perplexing mistakes and miscalculations stemming from his arrogance and self-centeredness to the detriment of himself and the very people he promises to fight for while in political office. It was an insightful read that helps readers better understand the vicious cycles we suffer in our kind of politics in this country. In terms of hope however, I’m not sure it inspired much given the reality that the story mirrors too much of what goes on in our politics this era.
#SomethingThatStoodOut: the writing style itself. It felt like Amu almost wrote this as a play instead of prose. The scene transitions felt quite abrupt in most instances and this may partly be due to insufficient spacing between paragraphs and overall structure. It often created the impression that Amu was hurrying the story along though he still managed to demonstrate careful consideration of all characters and events.
#OverallRating:🖋🖋🖋🖋 (out of 5 fountain pens).
Recommend or nah: I absolutely recommend. It’s a serious and fast paced read with splashes of humor that help you get through the often depressing themes.
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