The Cameroonian Novel of English Expression. An Introduction: An Introduction

Foreword

The Cameroonian Novel of English Expression: An Introduction xi It would be difficult today to find any consensus about either an accepted critical approach to prose fiction, or an established body of the Cameroonian novel of English Expression to which such an approach should be applied. This study is an introduction to a marginalized corpus of fiction and to a new critical approach to reading fiction by showing it in application. S. A. Ambanasom sets out in his eclectic and compelling book to achieve three primary objectives: to introduce the reader to the extensive body of Cameroonian novels which have been published in English, to re-examine the distorting and limiting criteria upon which the critical assessment of the Cameroonian novel in English has so far been based, and to bridge the widening chasm between literary theory and actual critical practice. In order to achieve the above objectives, Ambanasom begins by elaborating an alternative and flexible theoretical framework which he Christens the ‘‘Socio-Artistic Approach’’ and which, according to him, is ‘‘concerned with both a text’s thematic, moral, cultural or ideological issues, on the one hand, and its central literary analysis, on the other’’ He then proceeds to use this new critical framework to examine twenty-seven major Cameroonian novels in English, including Alobwed’Epie’s The Death Certificate, Azanwi Nchami’s Footprints Of Destiny, Linus Asong’s The Crown Of Thorns, Mbella Sonne Dipoko’s Because Of Women, Kenjo Jumbam’s The White Man Of God, Joseph Ngongwikwo’s Taboo Love, Margaret Afuh’s Born Before Her Time, Nkengasong Nkemngong’s Across The Mongolo, and Francis Nyamnjoh’s The Disillusioned African. The use of this unique system of interpretation enables him to offer fresh perspectives on the individual novels and to shed more light on the authors. This book is, on the one hand, a study of how Anglophone Cameroon has contributed in extending the possibilities of the novel as a literary form and, on the other, a study of some of the conventions which have been established and which are necessary for a fruitful evaluation of the growing body of the Cameroonian novel in English. Seen in this light, it is a remarkable work which is likely to reshape the course of future studies of the Cameroon novel in English. It is also an indispensable volume for students, teachers, researchers and all those with an interest in modern critical theory. Foreword Shadrach A. Ambanasom xii Professor Ambanasom is a seasoned scholar in his own right and has considerable experience in University teaching, research and publication. He is therefore fully aware of the fact that literary discourse is an openended phenomenon. That is why he nurses the hope that the experience of reading this important book will stimulate the interest of readers and encourage them to challenge or enrich the theoretical positions that inform it. Professor Kashim Ibrahim Tala Faculty of Arts University of Buea ...