In the Shadow of a Saint

by Ken Wiwa

Book Overview

In late 1995, the little-known Ogoni region in Nigeria became a fable for our times. Ken Saro-Wiwa, a renowned poet and environmentalist, was campaigning to protect his Ogoni people against the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0676971733
• ISBN13: 9780676971736
• Release Date: October 2000
• Publisher: Knopf Canada
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Wonderful but so tragic.

I had never heard of Ken Saro-Wiwa until a year ago. I became fascinated with Nigeria after meeting someone from there. I cried after each chapter. The son makes you so angry because he is so spoiled and so evil to his dad. Having such a deep connection to Africa myself I couldn't stop crying. I couldn't sleep at night after reading. Having said that it is a great learning tool and the best book I ever read.

A Befitting tribute to a great man!

A befitting gift to the memory of a great man from his son. Ken Wiwa has arrived as a major voice of his generation with this sincere and serious work of literature that looks at Nigerain politics and history from the eyes of a Niger Delta son. This is a personal document with a straight forward message.

amazing

I remember where I was the day I found out Ken Saro-Wiwa had been murdered. It's a day that will forever be with me. Ken Wiwa does a beautiful job of honoring his father's human rights work and expressing the complexity of their relationship. It is a shame that Mr. Saro-Wiwa will never be able to see his son's heartfelt tribute.

A great book, for anyone to enjoy

This is a beautiful, inspiring book. It is not just a biography of internationally acclaimed activist and novelist Ken Saro-Wiwa, but also an account of a son who manages to find himself despite the notoriety of his famous father. Ken Wiwa traces the history he has shared with his father, and examines his changes in perspective through his childhood, adolescent and adult years. He recounts his father's successful life, from government worker to TV writer, novelist, and finally, to political activist. He tells of his father's efforts to improve the lives of the impoverished Ogoni people, which included a heroic struggle against a multinational oil company. With brevity, and brutal honesty, Ken Wiwa leaves no stone unturned in examining his own thoughts and emotions in relation to these events. It would have been easy for Ken Wiwa to wax poetically about his father's heroism in the face of such a powerful opponent, and to fill all the pages of a book on this subject alone. He could have possibly sold many more books this way. But he purposely chose not to, and instead invites his readers on a rich, multi-faceted exploration of his father's life, his family and of his own growing self-awareness. In the end, we, the readers, are just as proud of Ken Saro-Wiwa as his son is. But it is the journey that we took to get there that makes it all the more moving.

A Humble and Honest Description of Ken Saro-Wiwa

I was in bed on the morning of the 10th of November 1995 when the death of ken Saro Wiwa was announced over the radio. As it is in Nigeria there is always the official and unofficial news so speculations the previous night dismissed as rumours...even though i was almost twenty at this time, it dawned on me that i knew next to nothing about Mr Saro-Wiwa..and folks made up to many stories that usually left you confused but Ken Wiwa has done an excellent job. He initial presents hiself has a spoilt kid who saw more meaning to life in the west than in Africa his home (Or so i understood it) but as he grows, he matures to the point where he does not only understand his father and what he stands for but learns to forgive and even sympathise with his many dilemas in his struglle to liberate the lifes and minds of his people. The most refreshing thing about the story is that Wiwa Snr and Jnr reach a compromise in what seemed like a stumbling relationship (as it is with many first sons who are similar to thier fathers) and reconcile before Saro-Wiwa dies. I gues like Wiwa snr said "it's a shame we cant choose our parents" but having ready a story like this one I'm quite glad it so too.Bro Ken i agree with your Dad you do have a good style keep the books coming.