Description: Examines the transformative power of irony in the creation of Muslim Afica.
Brief description: Laura Rice is Professor of Comparative Literature at Oregon State University and cotranslator (with Karim Hamdy) of Century of Locusts by Malika Mokeddem and Departures by Isabelle Eberhardt.
Review Quotes:
"This is one of the rare studies of African literature to bridge the gap between North African and Sub-Saharan literature, two worlds that rarely meet in the minds of most specialists in the field of African literature ... [it] is a valuable contribution to studies of African literature and society today. For this reason, it is a book that should be read by all who claim to be specialists in African literature." -- Comparative Literature Studies
"This book is beautifully written in clear, elegant prose and provides an original, imaginative, and compelling argument regarding alternative modernities in twentieth-century Africa." -- Winifred Woodhull, author of Transfigurations of the Maghreb: Feminism, Decolonization, and Literatures
"This is an excellent critical examination of some of Africa's most celebrated novels and the author approaches this rather complicated field with a unique commentary and balanced perspective." -- Chouki El Hamel, Arizona State University