Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #326109 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 528 pages

Review
"This is the most engrossing and unusual memoir I have read for ages" Margaret Busby --The Guardian

Review
"Wry, authoritative and humane"

Synopsis
The first African to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, as well as a political activist of prodigious energies, Wole Soyinka now follows his modern classic "Ake: The Years of Childhood" with an equally important chronicle of his turbulent life as an adult in (and in exile from) his beloved, beleaguered homeland. In the tough, humane, and lyrical language that has typified his plays and novels, Soyinka captures the indomitable spirit of Nigeria itself by bringing to life the friends and family who bolstered and inspired him, and by describing the pioneering theatre works that defied censure and tradition. Soyinka not only recounts his exile and the terrible reign of General Sani Abacha, but shares vivid memories and playful anecdotes - including his improbable friendship with a prominent Nigerian businessman and the time he smuggled a frozen wildcat into America so that his students could experience a proper Nigerian barbecue. More than a major figure in the world of literature, Wole Soyinka is a courageous voice for human rights, democracy, and freedom.

"You Must Set Forth at Dawn" is an intimate chronicle of his thrilling public life, a meditation on justice and tyranny, and a mesmerising testament to a ravaged yet hopeful land.

Customer Reviews

A must-read!!
A must-read book from an undoubted master, a wordsmith of prodigious talent, an indefatigable reformer and human rights activist.

In his much earlier book, "The Man Died", Soyinka averred that "the man dies in all who keeps silent in the face of tyranny". In his latest offering, Soyinka dwells extensively on his efforts in the 1990s, from home and in exile, to dislodge the most despotic and brutal regime his country, Nigeria, has had the misfortune of having - that of Sani Abacha (who he dubbed the Diminutive Demented Dictator). This, perhaps, is the perfect illustration of positive action, and failure to keep silent in the face of tyranny.

But the book is a lot more than Soyinka's actions to dislodge the Abacha regime. It highlights and expands on Soyinka's social and political activism, human and civil rights activities and eternal quest for justice.

Particularly enlightening is the explanation of his holding up at gunpoint of the Western Nigeria radio station in the 1960s, in reaction to the electoral robbery by the declared "winners" of the election. He was acquitted in the ensuing trial. He also helpfully narrates his 1967 attempt to avert the Nigerian Civil War, by travelling to Biafra, and dialoguing with the leader of the seceding state. For this, he was imprisoned, without trial, for 27 months, most of it spent in solitary confinement.

All these instances (and many more) confirm that for Soyinka, doing nothing in the face of injustice or imminent avoidable catastrophe is not an option. He'd sooner put himself in harm's way in order to prevent or rectify the situation, than merely complain, or sit back and do nothing.

Also interesting and thought-provoking is his discourse on the whether it is right to employ violence in a campaign against a tyrannical government that itself relies heavily on violence, such as the Abacha regime. Soyinka entertains no qualms on the subject, as evidenced by his assertion "...to respond to terror with violence, or attempt to defeat violence with its own instrumentality is, however, unblameworthy. I admire the saints, the Ghandis, the Martin Luther Kings, the Dalai Lamas, the Aung San Suu Kyis...... but I cannot aspire to companionship with them".

He virtually concludes that not only is it right, but morally imperative; that, not to employ violence when necessary will lay the campaigners open to the charge of incompetence, dereliction of duty and negligence, especially if they fail.

Soyinka also talks about some of his close friends and relatives. He movingly describes the death of a number of them, and the profound sense of loss that ensued.

As usual, Soyinka writes in the elegant, breathtaking and descriptive prose that characterises the work of this Nobel-winning writer, justifying the Swedish Academy's description of him (when awarding him the 1986 Nobel Prize) as one of the finest writers to have written in English. The wit (lacerating where necessary!) that typifies Soyinka's work is also on fully display in this book!

As I said, a must-read!!

Refreshing
I really like this book. I usually don't like Wole Soyinka's works, because they are so unreadable, unless you have a degree in English of course.

However this book is unlike his other works. It tells the story of the rape of Nigeria by the Military through the life and the personal encounters of the author.

A must have in any library

exposure
i am two-thirds through this book, You Must Set forth At Dawn.
A very informative, educative and constructive book.

This writer brings to bear how political administration is intertwined
with local and international business, development and relationships.

If for nothing at all, this book exposes one as to how and which friends
and connections to take or keep.