Itemize Containing Books Segu (Ségou #1)
| Title | : | Segu (Ségou #1) |
| Author | : | Maryse Condé |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 512 pages |
| Published | : | September 1st 1996 by Penguin Books (first published 1984) |
| Categories | : | Cultural. Africa. Fiction. Historical. Historical Fiction. France |
Maryse Condé
Paperback | Pages: 512 pages Rating: 4.09 | 1116 Users | 134 Reviews
Narration During Books Segu (Ségou #1)
The year is 1797, and the kingdom of Segu is flourishing, fed by the wealth of its noblemen and the power of its warriors. The people of Segu, the Bambara, are guided by their griots and priests; their lives are ruled by the elements. But even their soothsayers can only hint at the changes to come, for the battle of the soul of Africa has begun. From the east comes a new religion, Islam, and from the West, the slave trade. Segu follows the life of Dousika Traore, the king’s most trusted advisor, and his four sons, whose fates embody the forces tearing at the fabric of the nation. There is Tiekoro, who renounces his people’s religion and embraces Islam; Siga, who defends tradition, but becomes a merchant; Naba, who is kidnapped by slave traders; and Malobali, who becomes a mercenary and halfhearted Christian. Based on actual events, Segu transports the reader to a fascinating time in history, capturing the earthy spirituality, religious fervor, and violent nature of a people and a growing nation trying to cope with jihads, national rivalries, racism, amid the vagaries of commerce.Point Books Conducive To Segu (Ségou #1)
| Original Title: | Ségou. Les murailles de terre |
| ISBN: | 014025949X (ISBN13: 9780140259490) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Ségou #1 |
| Setting: | Mali Segu,1797 |
Rating Containing Books Segu (Ségou #1)
Ratings: 4.09 From 1116 Users | 134 ReviewsWrite-Up Containing Books Segu (Ségou #1)
There seems to be a trend or a desire to look at Africa certain ways. In one part, it seems (at least in American news eyes) to see it as a one big country. In another, it seems like it has now and colonization and thats it. When one reads about the exploration of Africa, it is with a Western center, and little about the people who actually live there. In many ways Condes novel Segu does much to attack this perception. Segu takes place in a fading (a real kingdom) and chronicles a family whoseThis was another great book I would probably never have noticed if it hadnt been for bookcrossing. And what a loss it would have been. The book follows the history of the Bambara people, from the 18th until the early 19th century. Today, the Bambara live mainly in present-day Mali and form the largest part of its population. Between the 17th and 19th century, they had two powerful kingdoms, one with its center in Segu, and the other in Kaarta. We follow the Traore family from Segu, through
This is an amazing novel, partly because of the incredible historical research that went into it. She takes her characters all over 18th and 19th century West Africa, and the detail with which she describes different cultures, languages, etc. is just incredible, and really believable. It's a great story. I give it 4 stars just because the characters are not quite as compelling to me as they could be, but it's a very well-told story. Fascinating whether or not you're interested in West Africa.
3.5/5As a work of historical fiction, Segu is often tremendous. Following one family over 70 years of history from the late 18th century to the mid-19th, right at the beginning of European colonialism in inner Africa (which, ironically, was partially driven by the official end of slavery), but from the POV of a family who are intimately involved with the intra-African politics of the time; the power struggle between various kingdoms, the spread of Islam and Christianity colonializing both minds
I'm on page 33 and it's taken me until now getting a sense of what the book is about. This is historical fiction and I wanted to read about African kingdoms near the dawn of the trans Atlantic slave trade. Though I'm just near the beginning; the author has already rolled out the usual suspects of treachery,avarice and jealousy at work to tear at the kingdoms as they are now at work tearing up some of our communities.Well I'm half way through the book now. Just as I was going to cart this book
Segu is the kind of book that takes you places you likely haven't had a chance to visit often in fiction. It begins in the Kingdom of Segu in the West Africa of the 1700s where the proud Bambara people live. Islam has come to Africa to pit tribe against tribe (Bambara, Fulani, and Yoruba), fathers against sons, and brothers against brothers. Maryse Conde is an amazing storyteller, and Segu is the kind of historical fiction I love because it more than successfully transported me to a mysterious
I read this years ago, before heading to live in Mali for several months. I am thinking back on this intergenerational, magical realist epic that paints history in broad and intimate, familial strokes like Marquez's 100 Years of Solitude. Segu tells the story of Mali's triple, simultaneous colonizations-- enslavement, French land-grabbing, and Muslim religious conquest. I am thinking now about the human-imposed tragedy in Mali today with heartbreak, as this book is lived again through labor
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