STYLE IN MODERN AFRICAN LITERATURE

This is a Stylistic and New Critical study of Omondi Mak'oloo's novels Too Young to Die and Times Beyond as well as the short story Love Made in Germany. It is noted that the author has been evolving from initial concern with popular themes and style, up to his latter pre-occupation with profound constructive issues. The approach allows a reading of the texts that reconciles the paradoxically strategized extension and intension of meaning into a constructive textual tension. The author makes a plea for the redemption of criminals in Too Young To Die, roots for a circumspective and inclusive world bereft of racism in Times Beyond and celebrates the triumph of inter-racial love over traditional forces of segregation in Love Made in Germany. In all these texts, the extensional meanings are given extra-significance (intensional) by the romantic ironic undercurrent belying them. As a consequence, the most rewarding way of reading the texts is through homologizing the dialectical splits evident in their stylistic architecture.

Autorentext

Mumia Osaaji teaches African, African American & Caribbean Literature at the University of Nairobi, Kenya. He has been trained on human rights and programme planning in Universities in Belgium & Netherlands. He is widely published in refereed journals, has managed development programmes and is a renown consultant on project monitoring & evaluation.

Klappentext

This is a Stylistic and New Critical study of Omondi Mak'oloo's novels Too Young to Die and Times Beyond as well as the short story Love Made in Germany. It is noted that the author has been evolving from initial concern with popular themes and style, up to his latter pre-occupation with profound constructive issues. The approach allows a reading of the texts that reconciles the paradoxically strategized extension and intension of meaning into a constructive textual tension. The author makes a plea for the redemption of criminals in Too Young To Die, roots for a circumspective and inclusive world bereft of racism in Times Beyond and celebrates the triumph of inter-racial love over traditional forces of segregation in Love Made in Germany. In all these texts, the extensional meanings are given extra-significance (intensional) by the romantic ironic undercurrent belying them. As a consequence, the most rewarding way of reading the texts is through homologizing the dialectical splits evident in their stylistic architecture.