My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (novel): Difference between revisions

Elijah Wolfson writing for Time Magazine said that in the novel Tutuola "''recontextualiz[ed] previously unrecorded west African mythology by imbuing it with symbols of what was at the time a new global modernity. Consider, for example, one of the key figures of the novel: the “television-handed ghostess,” [...] opening her hands and revealing TV screens on her palms showing footage of the narrator’s family and home village.''"<ref name=":0">Wolfson, Elijah. ““My Life in the Bush of Ghosts” Is on TIME’s List of the 100 Best Fantasy Books.” ''Time'', 15 Oct. 2020, time.com/collection/100-best-fantasy-books/5898437/my-life-in-the-bush-of-ghosts/. Accessed 27 June 2024.</ref>

In a 2006 essay that accompanied the re-release of the album, Byrne said that during the recording sessions ''"both Brian and I had begun reading [[John Chernoff|John Chernoff’s]] “[[African Rhythm and African Sensibility]]” and [[Robert Farris Thompson|Robert Farris Thompson’s]] “[[African Art In Motion]].”''  This was part of a larger "''African obsession''" in which that the two became aware of Tutuola, and read his first novel "[[The Palm Wine Drunkard]]." As for picking the title of Tutuala's second novel, Byrne wrote "''We hadn’t yet read this particular book [...] but the title was perfect, so that became the name of the record."''<ref>Byrne, David. “Bush of Ghosts- Making Of.” ''Bushofghosts.wmg.com'', 10 Apr. 2006, bushofghosts.wmg.com/essay_2.php. Accessed 27 June 2024.</ref>

Wolfson comments on the significance of this inspiration by stating "''it’s a testament to his impact, as arguably the first international artist to form a new language by sampling the folk traditions of the global south and the modern imagery of the industrialized West.''"<ref name=":0" />