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The Devil That Danced on the Water
- A Daughter's Quest
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 16 hrs and 55 mins
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The Devil That Danced on the Water
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Summary
An intimate and moving portrait of a family combined with an account of the events which swept through Africa in the postindependence period.
Aminatta Forna’s intensely personal history is a passionate and vivid account of an African childhood - of an idyll that became a nightmare. As a child she witnessed the upheavals of postcolonial Africa, the bitterness of exile in Britain and the terrible consequences of her dissident father’s stand against tyranny.
Mohamed Forna, a man of unimpeachable integrity and great charisma, was a new star in the political firmament Sierra Leone as the country faced its future as a fledgling democracy. Always a political firebrand, he was one of the first black students to come to Britain after the war. In Aberdeen he stole the heart of Aminatta's mother, to the dismay of her Presbyterian parents, and returned with her to Sierra Leone. But the new ways of Western parliamentary democracy were tearing old Africa apart, giving rise only to dictatorships and corruption of hitherto undreamed-of magnitude. It was not long before Aminatta’s father languished in jail as a prisoner of conscience, and there was worse to come.
Aminatta’s search for the truth that shaped both her childhood and the nation’s destiny begins among the country's elite and takes her into the heart of rebel territory. Determined to break the silence surrounding her father’s fate, she ultimately uncovered a conspiracy that penetrated the highest reaches of government and forced the nation's politicians and judiciary to confront their guilt.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Martyn Casserly
- 05-02-21
Heart breaking
A very well written story. That is both compelling to hear and Heart breaking.
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- Ladyfilosopher
- 29-04-22
I am in awe of her courage
this is a feat of determination and courage. Rendered well in voices that accent the many countries and generations involved. This book should be on high school, secondary school and university syllabuses. The unfolding is as delicate as the opening of a complex origami figure. The weight of the topic is distributed over various weight bearing columns of narrative. The horror is made possible to bear.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- E C Hughes
- 06-08-21
An absolutely facinating story!
I loved this story, taking me to a world that I knew so little about. it has led me to do more research on Sierra Leone as I embarrassingly realised that I had no real knowledge about its history . Highly recommended!! Thank you Aminata for sharing your story! x
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- AdelaK
- 17-09-21
Heartbreaking truth
Beautiful account of the life of Dr. Mohammed Forna, a story that should be known and told.
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- keith dube
- 07-08-20
Superb!!! Excellently written and narrated
Walking side by side with Aminatta as she explores her past and asks the questions that her 10 year old self couldn’t. Aminatta allows you to see her world, her memories and the dreams of a nation shattered. A tragic story but so well told I am reading it for the third time in 3 weeks. A definite must read!
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- KatieG
- 02-03-22
Brilliant and shocking and real
Never had understood the situation in Sierra Leone and this gives it a face in Dr Mohammed Forna written by his daughter. Briefly a forward thinking politician Forna tried to bring in free education and threatened the corrupt status quo and so was imprisoned.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Kindle Customer
- 04-01-22
hugely powerful
A daughter's painful quest to uncover the truth about her father's death in war-torn Sierra Leone.
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- Ms J Smith
- 28-06-21
Mohammed Forna, murdered for fighting corruption
Aminatta Forna's story of her father's murder in Sierra Leone is shocking, sad and compelling.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 25-01-21
intriguing journey
detailed journey of Aminatta Forna''s early life, the environments, the countries, cultures, the people and finally an answer to a life long question
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- techie
- 19-12-21
Excellent book, perfect narration
Very well written story. Sad too, sorry for the authors loss - her father left an enduring legacy. Great narrator, she got the accents and voices spot on. I highly recommend this book
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