Guanya Pau

Here's a book I never would have expected to read. Joseph J. Walters wrote "Guanya Pau" in 1891. It's interesting - written by a Liberian studying in the US. I'm not quite sure what to make of this book, though. Guanya (an African princess) rebels against her arranged marriage to a polygamist - and in so doing, against entrenched oppressive traditions - and becomes a prototypical feminist/women's rights activist. Her whole flight from the situation is filled with references to the inequality of men and women, and I think while Walters may have been focussed on the African experience, the common themes with women's rights movements are strong. I'm not going to spoil the book completely, but it's not a happy ending.

The part that set my teeth on edge just a little bit was the strident gospel hallelujahs that are sprinkled through the book - for example, the author writes that his African brothers and sisters will be able to rise for the benighted inequality of their lives so long as they rejoice in the light of God... standard missionary fare. It is not the overarching premise of the book - the passages where the author excuses his exuberant digressions into praise for the Almighty disjoint the story a bit. It's not a huge problem, but it seems that the author had a little trouble either keeping two theses separated, or in incorporating two streams of argument into a single one.

I can't say it's the most thrilling book I've ever read, but it's interesting, particularly for the point of view and arguments made in the context of the time when the author wrote it.