The Devil That Danced on the Water

The Devil That Danced on the Water: A Daughter's Quest is a 2002 book by Aminatta Forna about her childhood and an investigation into the execution of her father.

The Devil That Danced on the Water: A Daughter's Quest
AuthorAminatta Forna
CountryScotland
LanguageEnglish
SubjectMemoir, Sierra Leone history
Published2002 (Harper Collins)
Media typePrint (hardback)
Pages223
ISBN9780802140487
OCLC829656576

Reception

Reviewing The Devil That Danced on the Water for The Guardian, Victoria Brittain wrote: "Aminatta Forna's story of her father's execution on trumped-up treason charges, 25 years before anyone had heard of the Revolutionary United Front, gives a more personal framework for understanding the horror of the 1990s in the linked wars of Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea."[1]

Booklist called it "stunning" and "an important look at the sad state of politics in Sierra Leone",[2] and the Library Journal saw it as "More than a tale of vindication, this book is filled with powerful descriptions and moving details and if overly long is nevertheless an important work."[2]

Christopher Hope, writing in The Independent, stated: "Forna has written a book that is impossible to forget, or to confuse with any other memoir of tyrannical times." and found it "an obsessive, driven, refreshing book about Africa, despotism and exile."[3]

The Devil That Danced on the Water has also been reviewed by Publishers Weekly,[4] Kirkus Reviews,[5] People,[6] Metro,[7] The New Yorker,[8] Confrontation,[9] and Entertainment Weekly.[10]

It was on the shortlist for the 2003 Samuel Johnson Prize.[11]

References
  1. Brittain, Victoria (18 May 2002). "Books: The Truth about Daddy". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  2. "The Devil That Danced on the Water: A Daughter's Quest: Reviews". catalog.wccls.org. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  3. Hope, Christopher (25 May 2002). "Culture: Books: Reviews - The Devil That Danced on the Water, by Aminatta Forna". The Independent. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  4. "A Time of AngelsThe Devil That Danced on the Water: A Daughter's Quest (starred review)". Publishers Weekly. PWxyz LLC. 4 November 2002. Retrieved 30 January 2017. Reminiscent of Isabelle Allende's House of the Spirits, Forna's work is a powerfully and elegantly written mix of complex history, riveting memoir and damning exposé.
  5. "The Devil That Danced on the Water: A Daughter's Quest". Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Media LLC. 1 October 2002. Retrieved 30 January 2017. A searing indictment of African tyranny mingled with bittersweet childhood memories.
  6. Lynn, Allison (February 2003). "The Devil That Danced on the Water (Book)". People. Time Inc. 59 (6): 43. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  7. White, Margo; Rose Hoare (June 2003). "The Devil That Danced on the Water (Book)". Metro. Bauer Media (264): 97. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  8. "The Devil That Danced on the Water (Book)". The New Yorker. Condé Nast. 79 (1): 201. 17 February 2003. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  9. Tucker, Martin (March 2003). "Africa Dissenting". Confrontation (82): 331. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  10. "The Week". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. February 2003. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  11. "Devil that Danced on the Water: A Daughter's Memoir (HarperCollins)". thebailliegiffordprize.co.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
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