Cover of The Palm-Wine Drinkard

The Palm-Wine Drinkard

by Amos Tutuola · 1952

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When Amos Tutuola's first novel, The Palm-Wine Drinkard, appeared in 1952, it aroused exceptional worldwide interest. Drawing on the West African (Nigeria) Yoruba oral folktale tradition, Tutuola described the odyssey of a devoted palm-wine drinker through a nightmare of fantastic adventure. Since then, The Palm-Wine Drinkard has been translated into more than 15 languages and has come to be regarded as a masterwork of one of Africa's most influential writers.

Genre
fantasyfantasyMore like thisLess of thisliterary fictionliterary fictionMore like thisLess of thismagical realismmagical realismMore like thisLess of thisfolklorefolkloreMore like thisLess of thismythologymythologyMore like thisLess of this
Setting
AfricaAfricaMore like thisLess of thisNigeriaNigeriaMore like thisLess of thiscollegecollegeMore like thisLess of this
Mood
surrealsurrealMore like thisLess of this
Audience
adult
Length
short · 125 pages
Form
short storiesshort storiesMore like thisLess of thisnovellanovellaMore like thisLess of this

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“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

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