A LIFE ON AN APRIL CANVAS
Product Description
by Kiarri T-H. Cheatwood
Kwesi Bey is a black writer struggling to support his family on artists' grants and part-time jobs. While he is borrowing money and requesting favors from friends, Kwesi and his male mentors theorize about the nature of ``asking.'' Yet Kwesi never seems to know when he is asking too much; when his requests are denied, he feels betrayed and strikes back at the would-be givers. In the process, he draws little sympathy from the reader. Although Life on an April Canvas touches on pressing Pan-African issues, the narrative style and the characterization aren't strong enough to carry the weight of the message. Especially at the beginning, the characters' voices are hardly distinguishable from one another. Recommended only for libraries with a strong commitment to Pan-African fiction.-- Marie F. Jones, Muskingum Coll. Lib., New Concord, Ohio
Paperback: 154 pages
Kwesi Bey is a black writer struggling to support his family on artists' grants and part-time jobs. While he is borrowing money and requesting favors from friends, Kwesi and his male mentors theorize about the nature of ``asking.'' Yet Kwesi never seems to know when he is asking too much; when his requests are denied, he feels betrayed and strikes back at the would-be givers. In the process, he draws little sympathy from the reader. Although Life on an April Canvas touches on pressing Pan-African issues, the narrative style and the characterization aren't strong enough to carry the weight of the message. Especially at the beginning, the characters' voices are hardly distinguishable from one another. Recommended only for libraries with a strong commitment to Pan-African fiction.-- Marie F. Jones, Muskingum Coll. Lib., New Concord, Ohio
Paperback: 154 pages
