Wole Soyinka, The Interpreters

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The Interpreters (1965), the first of Wole Soyinka’s two novels, moves away from the critical realist mode of the fiction of his fellow Nigerian, Chinua Achebe, and employs modernist techniques such as interior monologue and abrupt shifts of scene. With non-linear narration and written in elaborate poetic language, this experimental work draws attention self-reflexively to its own form and language. Like Ayi Kwei Armah’s The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born (1968), it is often cited as an example of an African novel of post-independence disillusionment. Although it has influenced other African novelists, notably Nuruddin Farah and Abdulrazak Gurnah (NCLA 2011), The Interpreters is not widely read or taught today. …

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Citation: Dodgson-Katiyo, Pauline. "The Interpreters". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 March 2016 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=496, accessed 28 March 2024.]

496 The Interpreters 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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