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Ancestor Stones by Aminatta Forna5/19/2023 ![]() Each aunt was born to a different wife of Abie’s wealthy grandfather. In a small village away from the distractions of the developed world, Abie sits with her aunts - Asana, Mary, Hawa and Serah - and learns how they and their country have changed. Structured as a set of linked short stories, “Ancestor Stones” begins when Abie, a young woman of African descent, leaves England and travels to Sierra Leone to assume control of her grandfather’s coffee plantation. ![]() ![]() Here, the four women who are Forna’s principal narrators are the novel’s central characters, at the heart of the action. In the first work of fiction by Aminatta Forna - the author of “The Devil That Danced on the Water,” a well-received memoir about her family in Sierra Leone - the ancestors play much more than an advisory role. More often, as in the works of Chinua Achebe, both living and dead ancestors are sages offering valuable advice. Sometimes, as in Amos Tutuola’s famous short novels, they directly influence events. Whether as living humans or as mythological figures, ancestors have always played an important role in the African popular and literary imagination. ![]()
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