Africa Dances

Wow, I really struggled with this one. Of the other 14 ratings on GR, ten of them are for Four stars! Maybe I missed something, or perhaps the oppressively small print in my cerise Penguin edition got the better of me.

It is largely a work of anthropology, examining the people of West Africa (French West Africa at the time), Senegal and Mali now, but the author wraps in some constant companions and turns it into a journey as well. It was first published in 1935, this edition contains a foreword from the author when it was reprinted 10 years after.

In his foreword, the author called it a ‘... chastening, and in some ways, humiliating experience tore-read a book one has written ten years before.' But he did not re-edit or alter it as far as I can tell. The foreword is perhaps the most interesting part of the book.

I struggled to connect with the narrative, reading long passages only to find I had no idea what was just outlined. Maybe it was that small print...

The book included some black and white photography, ok, but mostly poor quality and difficult to get more than a vague idea what was happening in each.

Think I will leave it there in analysis!
Can't go beyond 2 stars.