In his 1966 book Chike
and the River, renowned Nigerian author Chinua Achebe brings to life the
story of eleven-year-old Chike, who struggles
to achieve his dream of crossing the Niger River to the city of Asaba. As with
many tales, the heart of the story lies within the journey:
The more Chike saw the ferryboats the more he wanted to make
a trip to Asaba. But where would he get the money? He did not know. Still, he hoped.
“One day is one day,” he said, meaning that one day he would make the journey,
come what may.
What follows is a series of adventures both humorous and
precarious that aid Chike’s personal growth and understanding of the world,
from dealing with a money-doubling village magician, to being tricked by his
headmaster into carrying a missionary’s luggage across a stream. Through perseverance,
Chike eventually realizes his dream, but soon finds Asaba is not as he had
imagined. The journey home becomes yet another test of wit and bravery.
A great strength of Achebe’s is his ability to tell vivid stories
free of overly dense prose or convoluted plotlines. The power of his deceptively
simple brush strokes are found in descriptions of key characteristics and
motivations rather than of physical attributes alone. The privileged essence of
Chike’s good friend, Samuel Maduka Obi (who nicknamed himself S.M.O.G. for the
effect), comes through in S.M.O.G.’s attitude about money rather than through an
account of his belongings. After being swindled by the magician recommended by
S.M.O.G., Chike returns to his friend to ask, “Has he ever doubled money for
you?” to which S.M.O.G. replies “No, I get everything I need from my mother. So
I don’t need to have my money doubled.”
Another example of Achebe’s skill in illustrating the nature
of a person or setting, oftentimes simultaneously, can be found in Chike’s take
on a big city after leaving his mother and two sisters to live with his uncle
forty-miles away:
At first Onitsha
looked very strange to Chike. He could not say who was a thief or kidnapper and
who was not. In Umuofia every thief was known, but here even people who lived
under the same roof were strangers to one another. Chike was told by his uncle’s
servant that sometimes a man died in one room and his neighbor in the next room
would be playing his gramophone. It was all very strange.
Thus, the reader is given not only a boy’s anxiety in and skepticism
of a place both large and new, but is also shown differences in community values
between a village and a city.
Unlike previous illustrated editions of Chike and the River, the August 9, 2011 Anchor Books edition features
the work of Cuban-born artist Edel Rodriguez, a regular contributor to The New
Yorker magazine and a former art director for Time Magazine. Each in three colors (red, white and black),
the abstract acrylic paintings complement the modest, yet wildly creative spirit
of the narrative.
A charming story of the
modern versus the traditional, of pushing against and overcoming boundaries, Chike and the River offers enjoyment for
readers of any age.
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Ishmael A. Elias is a
writer and teacher based in Oakland, Calif. He is completing his debut
novel, the first chapter of which is due to appear in the upcoming
"Cherokee Writers from the Flint Hills of Oklahoma: An Anthology" by the
Cherokee Arts & Humanities Council.
