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a novel by
AYESHA HARRUNA ATTAH
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review:
Ayesha Harruna Attah’s Harmattan Rain was impressive to say the least. As she weaves Ghana’s political history into the story of three generations of strong African women, I couldn’t stop thinking to myself, “Where does a 25 year old garner the strength, courage and talent to produce such a work. Attah may very well be our next Ayi Kwei Armah. While her debut novel is much longer than any of Armah’s work, it reads very fast. I couldn’t put it down knocking it out in two days.
Harmattan Rain is 400 plus pages of the detailed account of the lives of Lizzie, Akua Afriyie, & Sugri – Mother, daughter, & granddaughter. She manages to give each one a distinct personality while connecting each characters life to the other and the effects of Ghana’s political landscape.
The story not only chronicles the changes in Ghana’s leadership, but Attah’s attention to detail shows the fluctuation of the Cedi as prices for goods and services rise throughout the novel. The wealth of historical insight to be gained from reading this work is enough to pick it up and pass on to others, but the story of these three dynamic women cannot go unnoticed.
All three generations of women exude an internal strength partnered with a confidence and sensuality that makes them easily lovable. While certain character flaws are noticeable, Attah’s ability to make the character’s multi dimensional draws the reader into the story as part of the family making each characters flaws forgivable.. The male characters are less than impressive, which is not surprising as it adds to the strength of the women, but it would have been nice to see one strong male character. Bador Samed is the strongest male character in this tale and he is driven mad as he loses his love, Lizzie.
While I love the story I would have loved if this novel had one more good edit before it was printed. Typos, omissions, and word choice issues could easily be rectified with proper editing. For example, Attah describes Bador Samed as having skin the color of laterite. After this beautiful description, she uses laterite another dozen times in the book for other desriptions, which diminishes the effect of the word.
One omission that is almost overlooked is when Rashid has all of the members of the Black Student Association to introduce themselves, Sugri’s introduction is omitted or forgotten for some reason. While the reader has already been introduced to the character, this oversight in dialogue cannot go ignored.
One of the biggest missed edits is in relation to the rapper Notorious B.I.G. also known as Biggie Smalls. In the novel, Attah repeatedly calls him Notorious Biggie which should have easily been caught in editing. Her decision to use his name and lyrics repeatedly only diminishes this great work because of this small mistake.
Harmattan Rain even with it’s few mistakes is a must read for anyone who loves African writers. It also gives a multi-faceted face to the Ghanaian women. I am eagerly awaiting Attah’s sophomore release. If Harmattan Rain was published at he age of 25, she was even younger when she started writing. Ayesha Harruna Attah will undoubtedly blow our minds as she continues to perfect her craft. -- Ra Wilson
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