Describe Books Supposing Segu (Ségou #1)
| Original Title: | Ségou. Les murailles de terre |
| ISBN: | 014025949X (ISBN13: 9780140259490) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Ségou #1 |
| Setting: | Mali Segu,1797 |
Maryse Condé
Paperback | Pages: 512 pages Rating: 4.09 | 1116 Users | 134 Reviews
Point Containing Books Segu (Ségou #1)
| Title | : | Segu (Ségou #1) |
| Author | : | Maryse Condé |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 512 pages |
| Published | : | September 1st 1996 by Penguin Books (first published 1984) |
| Categories | : | Cultural. Africa. Fiction. Historical. Historical Fiction. France |
Representaion Concering Books Segu (Ségou #1)
The year is 1797, and the kingdom of Segu is flourishing, fed by the wealth of its noblemen and the power of its warriors. The people of Segu, the Bambara, are guided by their griots and priests; their lives are ruled by the elements. But even their soothsayers can only hint at the changes to come, for the battle of the soul of Africa has begun. From the east comes a new religion, Islam, and from the West, the slave trade. Segu follows the life of Dousika Traore, the king’s most trusted advisor, and his four sons, whose fates embody the forces tearing at the fabric of the nation. There is Tiekoro, who renounces his people’s religion and embraces Islam; Siga, who defends tradition, but becomes a merchant; Naba, who is kidnapped by slave traders; and Malobali, who becomes a mercenary and halfhearted Christian.Based on actual events, Segu transports the reader to a fascinating time in history, capturing the earthy spirituality, religious fervor, and violent nature of a people and a growing nation trying to cope with jihads, national rivalries, racism, amid the vagaries of commerce.
Rating Containing Books Segu (Ségou #1)
Ratings: 4.09 From 1116 Users | 134 ReviewsComment On Containing Books Segu (Ségou #1)
Segu is the kind of book that takes you places you likely haven't had a chance to visit often in fiction. It begins in the Kingdom of Segu in the West Africa of the 1700s where the proud Bambara people live. Islam has come to Africa to pit tribe against tribe (Bambara, Fulani, and Yoruba), fathers against sons, and brothers against brothers. Maryse Conde is an amazing storyteller, and Segu is the kind of historical fiction I love because it more than successfully transported me to a mysteriousWhat a book this is!! A historical (albeit fictional) account of the onset of the decline of the Segou/Bamana/Bambara Empire, (one of the successor Kingdoms of the larger Mali Empire) the beginning of the conversion to Islam of the Bambara and Fulani people, contact with Europeans and much more. As a history buff, this is golden stuff!! A meta commentary on race/ethnic relations between the various groups fighting to control the region - the rather unsurprising revelation that being black,
A most amazing epic set in West Africa [along the Niger River] in the 19th century. You follow portions of the lives of a long series of characters, old and young, male and female. Rather disturbing to read about all the warfare and distrust between neighboring groups.I had known nothing at all about the introduction of Islam in this part of the world. During the 19th century people and whole villages/tribes were converting to this foreign religion, and one thing it brought was the chance to
I fell in love with the book. So much so that the day that I finished it, I ran out and bought the Children of Segu. Not only was it fiercely entertaining, it was informative regarding the rise of West African empires but also the deadly impact of Islam of indigenous African religion. The year is 1797, and the kingdom of Segu is flourishing, fed by the wealth of its noblemen and the power of its warriors. The people of Segu, the Bambara, are guided by their griots and priests; their lives are
3.5/5As a work of historical fiction, Segu is often tremendous. Following one family over 70 years of history from the late 18th century to the mid-19th, right at the beginning of European colonialism in inner Africa (which, ironically, was partially driven by the official end of slavery), but from the POV of a family who are intimately involved with the intra-African politics of the time; the power struggle between various kingdoms, the spread of Islam and Christianity colonializing both minds
This is one of my all time favorite books. Fiction excels at letting us feel history. None does it better than Segu. From Amazon.com:"The year is 1797, and the kingdom of Segu is flourishing, fed by the wealth of its noblemen and the power of its warriors. The people of Segu, the Bambara, are guided by their griots and priests; their lives are ruled by the elements. But even their soothsayers can only hint at the changes to come, for the battle of the soul of Africa has begun. From the east
Like the swift-running river on whose banks the city of Segu sits, the lives of the various men of the Traore family flow through the veins of Western Africa; enslaved, apostatised and awaken from both intellectual and spiritual slumbers, Conde is able to depict, via the Traore family, the gradual, yet constant dehumanisation of Africans via the wider forces of the world, whether it the slave trade of the New World, the colonial ambitions of Europe or the religious fervour of the Arabic world
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