Syl Cheney-Coker, The Last Harmattan of Alusine Dunbar

David Borman (Bellarmine University)

Ed. by Helen Rachel Cousins, Newman University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 8.2.3: Anglophone African Writing and Culture: Subsaharan.
Vol. editors: Helen Rachel Cousins (Newman University), David Firth (University of Manchester)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1990

Places

Sierra Leone (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

The Last Harmattan of Alusine Dunbar is the first novel from Sierra Leonean author Syl Cheney-Coker, and perhaps his most famous work. It was written consciously in the style of magical realism, although Cheney-Coker rejects that terminology as an apt descriptor for his work. The novel begins in 1787 and ends in the postcolonial present day, when an unsuccessful military coup has just been put to rest. Chiefly, the novel follows two waves of settlers – known historically as the Black Loyalists but unnamed in the novel – and their descendants as they establish townships and eventually the nation of Malagueta (Cheney-Coker’s fictionalized version of Sierra Leone). This novel is one of the few fictional …

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1488 words

Citation: Borman, David. "The Last Harmattan of Alusine Dunbar". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 June 2017 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35889, accessed 20 April 2024.]

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