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The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi
"The first ten years of my life I was not black." Thus begins this startlingly eloquent and beautiful tale based on the true story of Kwasi Boachi, a 19th- century African prince who was sent with his cousin, Kwame, to be raised in Holland as a guest of the royal family. Narrated by Kwasi himself, the story movingly portrays the perplexing dichotomy of the cousins' situation: black men of royal ancestry, they are subject to insidious bigotry even as they enjoy status among Europe's highest echelons. As their lives wind down different paths-Kwame back to Africa where he enlists in the Dutch army, Kwasi to an Indonesian coffee plantation where success remains mysteriously elusive-they become aware of a terrible truth that lies at the heart of their experiences. Vivid, subtle, poignant and profound, The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi is an exquisite masterpiece of story and craft, a heartrending work that places Arthur Japin on a shelf that includes Joseph Conrad, J.M. Coetzee, Kazuo Ishiguro and Nadine Gordimer.
Book Details
- Publisher: Vintage
- Publish Date: Jun 11st, 2002
- Pages: 400
- Language: English
- Edition: undefined - undefined
- Dimensions: 8.32in - 4.89in - 0.92in - 0.94lb
- EAN: 9780375718892
- Categories: • Historical - General• Literary
Praise for this book
"[F]ascinatingly ambitious . . . . [A] haunting and highly unusual historical novel." --The New York Times "A classic tragedy . . . . This is a true story, fully and humanly imagined, and that is the measure of Japin's accomplishment." --San Francisco Chronicle "A virtuoso recreation of an extraordinary life." --London Daily Telegraph "A mesmerizing tale." --Time Out New York "Deeply thought and intricately worked . . . . The whole is as seamless in its artistry as it is moving in its emotional investigations." --Times Literary Supplement "[A] powerful story . . . . a fascinating study of how people deal with difference" --Financial Times "[A] tour de force . . . be prepared for surprises on every page." --The Dallas Morning News "[R]ich and risky . . . . A deeply humane book, a spectacularly exotic subject." --New York Times Book Review "[Q]uietly devastating . . . . [T]akes a subject that by now may look stale . . . and gives it back its rich and tragic color." --New York Magazine "Gorgeous . . . . [A] work that affirms the human heart's resilience even as it reveals its darkest prejudice." --Newsday