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'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying - Literature (4) - Nairaland

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Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by HacheNoire: 3:31pm On May 23, 2020
Who is going to read all this?
Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by folake4u(f): 3:49pm On May 23, 2020
Nice piece Ishilove smiley
Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by LOVEGINO(m): 3:50pm On May 23, 2020
Hahahaha. I read dis book when I was 12
Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by ednut1(m): 3:58pm On May 23, 2020
Brilliant piece

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Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by Ishilove: 4:01pm On May 23, 2020
Imunique:


My goodness! I remembered this book just three days ago. My dad bought it for me in primary 5/6 and I clearly remember thinking it was the weirdest book I had ever read,then. Sadly cannot find it anymore.

I love how you were able to relate the book to real life, present day issues.
Thank you.
It is pretty glaring if you read with an open mind. Art imitates real life if you know from what angle to look at it from.

1 Like

Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by Ishilove: 4:03pm On May 23, 2020
folake4u:
Nice piece Ishilove smiley
Thanks smiley
Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by Ishilove: 4:03pm On May 23, 2020
promiseland245:
I am definitely going to look for this book for a major reason which is how you analysed it. You are a good writer yourself!!!!
Thank you!!
Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by BluntTheApostle(m): 4:04pm On May 23, 2020
Ishilove:
I was going to post this in my diary but I changed my mind and decided to rave about it here instead. I am not going give any fancy review, neither will I read the criticism until I am done with the book.

Never mind that the prose is pedestrian and chaotic at first glance, this book is one of the finest piece of African storytelling I have I ever come across in all my years of reading.

So rave, I MUST. If your attention span is a tweet long, then this thread is NOT for you. grin

I haven't gotten to the middle though. Hehehehehe..... cheesy

What a book. And what a writer Tutuola was.

Tutuola had a short formal education, hence the "chaotic" narrative.

He and Fagunwa will always have their special place in Literature.

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Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by Fucsheetup(f): 4:16pm On May 23, 2020
Ishilove:
Do we now talk about the problem of Problem Children? Our protagonist finally has a child (who came out through his mother's thumb, by the way. No vaginal birth here. LOL cheesy) and guess what the baby does? He starts guzzling palm wine like a hardened drinker. A classic case of parental bad habits passing from one generation to the other, and this case it is amplified because not only does the newly born Junior drink palmwine, he also eats like a whale and is as strong as 100 men to boot. He controls the house and orders when and how things are done, even dictating to his parents how long they must sleep. At least Papa Junior was only addicted to palmwine which he got through legit means, but Junior here, he beats up everyone who stands in his way and even his parents are afraid of him because he is ransacking the whole town, eating people's food, drinking their wine and pummeling any modafugga that complains.

Oh gosh I cackled like a hen throughout this chapter. The Drinkards have a serious family problem. cheesy

At a level it is totally relatable because every family has a problem or difficult child who manifest their fuckery in various shades. How we handle them is what makes the difference between Family A and Family B. I also realised while reading that not all bad children are bad as a result of faulty parenting. Some kids are just born bad. No matter how well you train them, they will always end up in the wrong way because there is something fundamentally wrong with them. Junior here was bad right from his mother's 'womb'.
Wow, I must read this book!

Great thread. Very spooky!
Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by Ishilove: 4:19pm On May 23, 2020
BluntTheApostle:


What a book. And what a writer Tutuola was.

Tutuola had a short formal education, hence the "chaotic" narrative.

He and Fagunwa will always have their special place in Literature.

I have never read any of Fagunwa's books. I think the chaotic narrative is one of the unique qualities of the book.
Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by zicoraads: 4:20pm On May 23, 2020
LoL. I still have it on my table at work.

The analogies you made out of it is brilliant. I read all and could have easily read more.

Well done Ishi.
Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by Ishilove: 4:20pm On May 23, 2020
TalkTalkTwins:


Please can I get a digital copy of the book?
Follow this link

https://www.nairaland.com/5876208/palmwine-drinkard-amos-tutuola-how#89864304
Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by Ishilove: 4:20pm On May 23, 2020
zicoraads:
LoL. I still have it on my table at work.

The analogies you made out of it is brilliant. I read all and could have easily read more.

Well done Ishi.
Thanks
Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by Ishilove: 4:21pm On May 23, 2020
Topesal:
.


[color=#000099][/color][i][/i][b][/b]am still missing the story. I will love to read it again. I will appreciate if anybody can help me with a link to download it.thanks
Follow this link

https://www.nairaland.com/5876208/palmwine-drinkard-amos-tutuola-how#89864304
Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by Fucsheetup(f): 4:24pm On May 23, 2020
Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by rossychik(f): 4:30pm On May 23, 2020
I can only say thank you very much for this exposure. I read it in my first year but was not really a folklore person besides the English was nothing to write home about. So I never really considered it for a second read, but I will try and do so.
Secondly, I must commend you for the way u related the book to today's problems, it was really inspirational, you are really talented. Thanks
Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by Nickymezor(f): 4:38pm On May 23, 2020
Gosh,its been ages I read the book...it was hilarious, scary n weird way back

1 Like

Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by iPopAlomo(m): 4:47pm On May 23, 2020
I read all Amos books before I turned 10.... All the books... I still owe Ibadan boys high school one book as I never returned it.


But to see people find it scary... Interesting.

1 Like

Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by iPopAlomo(m): 4:49pm On May 23, 2020
obailala:
Hmmm.. The Palmwine Drinkard! grin

I'm typically not a reader of books, but the continuous laughter and fascination of my brother whilst reading this book got me extremely curious. I eventually had a go at it, and till date, it remains the most hilarious bizarre tale I've ever encountered in my life. I remember crying repeatedly out of laughter throughout the episode.



Exactly... It was all funny to me... Not scary one bit... Best book I read as a kid.
Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by traihit: 5:04pm On May 23, 2020
First time I'm hearing about the book. I've heard about Amos Tutuola once even though I've read almost all Fagunwa's books.
Thanks op for the analysis.
Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by Unlimited22: 5:10pm On May 23, 2020
My ability to stay with this book was the precursor of my love for Nnedi Okoroafor.

The book is a gem.
Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by scaler345: 5:54pm On May 23, 2020
Thanks OP. I read this book during my primary school days.
Wierd!!!
Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by ThothHermes: 5:59pm On May 23, 2020
I did not read this book. Strange. sad sad
Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by BluntTheApostle(m): 6:02pm On May 23, 2020
Ishilove:

I have never read any of Fagunwa's books. I think the chaotic narrative is one of the unique qualities of the book.

It isn't actually a unique quality of the book.

In Literature, there is a technique called oral-written hybridity.

The writer writes as if they are telling the story orally. So, they don't pay attention to plot styles. They are not interested in grandness or exquisiteness or syntax. They just want to tell a story.

So, before Amos Tutuola, there was Patricia Grace with her "chaotic" narratives.


However, Amos Tutuola invested in Yoruba folklores and produced a powerful magical realism.

As for Fagunwa, he wrote in Yoruba. If you don't understand or can't read Yoruba, you can read Wole Soyinka's translation of one of Fagunwa's novels, "A Forest of a Thousand Daemons".

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Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by Hydronium(m): 6:07pm On May 23, 2020
Some really surreal experiences in that book, similar to those in Fagunwa's 'Ogboju Ode ninu Igbo irunmole'
BTW, can someone please help me with where to get 'Forest of a thousand daemons'?
Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by blank(f): 6:14pm On May 23, 2020
I read this book when i was about 9yrs old. It was so scary but so interesting. My dad would sit me down and explain some of the stuff but i just read it as fiction. Couldn't sleep in my bed at a point towards the end.

2 Likes

Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by J2381: 6:17pm On May 23, 2020
iPopAlomo:



Exactly... It was all funny to me... Not scary one bit... Best book I read as a kid.
bros how you? Been a while. Happy new year. grin
Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by Ishilove: 6:51pm On May 23, 2020
BluntTheApostle:


It isn't actually a unique quality of the book.

In Literature, there is a technique called oral-written hybridity.

The writer writes as if they are telling the story orally. So, they don't pay attention to plot styles. They are not interested in grandness or exquisiteness or syntax. They just want to tell a story.

So, before Amos Tutuola, there was Patricia Grace with her "chaotic" narratives.


However, Amos Tutuola invested in Yoruba folklores and produced a powerful magical realism.

As for Fagunwa, he wrote in Yoruba. If you don't understand or can't read Yoruba, you can read Wole Soyinka's translation of one of Fagunwa's novels, "A Forest of a Thousand Daemons".
Magical realism! How delightfully apt cheesy

I actually thought Fagunwa's books had been translated to English. I saw one Igbo Irumole book he wrote on someone's profile a while back
Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by BluntTheApostle(m): 6:58pm On May 23, 2020
Ishilove:

Magical realism! How delightfully apt cheesy

I actually thought Fagunwa's books had been translated to English. I saw one Igbo Irumole book he wrote on someone's profile a while back

Many, if not all of his novels have been translated into English.

One of my uncles translated Igbo Olodumare as his PhD thesis.

I hope to make my own translation one day. grin
Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by dapadawee: 7:08pm On May 23, 2020
Ishilove:
I was going to post this in my diary but I changed my mind and decided to rave about it here instead. I am not going give any fancy review, neither will I read the criticism until I am done with the book.

Never mind that the prose is pedestrian and chaotic at first glance, this book is one of the finest piece of African storytelling I have I ever come across in all my years of reading.

So rave, I MUST. If your attention span is a tweet long, then this thread is NOT for you. grin

I haven't gotten to the middle though. Hehehehehe..... cheesy
during my days in school I learnt that this was the first literature work in Nigeria. though eroded with a lot of grammatical blunders, you cannot but acknowledge the creative humour of the writer so captivating.
Re: 'The Palmwine Drinkard' By Amos Tutuola & How It Relates To Social Media Slaying by bukatyne(f): 8:15pm On May 23, 2020
Ishilove:

This is news to me! Are you serious?

Yeah cheesy

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