The Devil That Danced on the Water

A Daughter's Quest

De: Aminatta Forna

Narrado por: Adjoa Andoh

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.

©2002 Aminatta Forna (P)2015 Audible, Ltd.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"An extraordinary and gripping story...Aminatta Forna’s book glows with compassion. A modern classic, of which her courageous father would have been proud." (Peter Gowin, author of Mukiwa)

Powerful book about a childhood in Africa and a story of a Childs love for her father

A powerful book about a young girls journey into adulthood and about the history of her father. The tail is engaging and enthralling. Some parts are a bit slow and you wonder at the reasons for the inclusion. Sometimes I couldn’t remember some of the characters for example when the main character is an adult and is a journalist it’s difficult to connect some of the dots. But overall I enjoyed it.

I would recommend this book to read it to like really history and like meeting about the history of Africa and the struggles that went on there do you need during Civil War

A profound story which every African needs to hear

Aminata Forna's account of Sierra Leone's political and conflict upheavals has profoundly helped me appreciate the significance of peace and the role of good leadership in holding a country together. Aminata's quest to uncover the unjust prosecution of her father provides insight into the tragic story of Sierra Leone and the unimaginable civil war that ravaged the country from 1991 to 2002—for a full decade. Today, Sierra Leone has achieved relative stability compared to its history of civil war and political unrest, thanks to significant progress in peacebuilding, post-conflict reconstruction, and democratic governance. As a Kenyan, I can't help but step back and appreciate the strides we have made in safeguarding our constitution and fighting for our political rights. Today, I want to express my gratitude to the men and women who have fought and continue to fight for the respect of these rights and freedoms.