Endorsements

The Boy Who Spat in Sargrenti’s Eye is a meticulously researched historical novel, beautifully situated in real events of late nineteenth-century Ghana. Manu Herbstein has done what the best cultural historians of Africa should do: that is, read between the lines of the colonial archives to imagine what it was like to be an African alive at that time, witnessing and interpreting events. He gives a voice to all the local actors, from small boys to big men, and he breathes life into Ghanaian history from the perspective of Ghanaian witnesses. This is at once a historical novel and a reflection on the future of Ghana as projected out of those significant conflicts of the 1870s. Prof. Stephanie Newell, University of Sussex, England. Author of West African Literatures, Ghanaian Popular Fiction and Literary Culture in Colonial Ghana.

This book takes history out of the recesses of memory and obscurity, and expresses it in vivid and dazzling light, for all to see and understand; providing educational details which substantially augment our perceptions of the past. It is well-researched and written in lucid language for the younger audience, but should be enjoyed by adults who need introductions to this salacious slice of history. Prof. Kwesi Kwaa Prah, Centre for Advanced Studies of African Societies, Cape Town.

Readers of this historical novel will be witness to a dramatic episode in Ghanaian history: the advent of British colonialism, with all the ruthless, cruel and absurd features that accompanied European penetration of the African hinterland in the late 19th century. Vividly written, thoroughly researched and lavishly illustrated, the book gives a lively account of this African-European encounter, as seen through the eyes of an enterprising youth from Elmina/Cape Coast who accompanied the British campaign to Kumasi in 1874. Although a work of fiction aimed at a youthful readership, the book rests on firm historical foundations. Dr. Ineke van Kessel African Studies Centre, Leiden, Netherlands. Editor of Merchants, Missionaries and Migrants: 300 years of Dutch-Ghanaian Relations.

Kofi Gyan’s story is overdue: as a counter-discourse to the young adult literature of Empire for which Henty was/is famous, Kofi's perspective is crucial to the process of decolonization and will definitely challenge our views and perceptions. Dr. Mawuena Kossi Logan, University of the West Indies. Author of Narrating Africa: George Henty and The Fiction of Empire

This book is a highly instructive window into a critical period of Ghanaian history. The nuances of racial attitudes of the colonialists and their reasons for being in the Gold Coast unfold in simple language and paint a picture that is very relevant to conditions in Ghana today. Young Kofi Gyan conveys the experience of his world changing irreversibly and the questions raised along with lessons learnt make this a critical addition to the history curriculum of Ghanaian schools. Prof. Thaddeus P. Ulzen, Chair, Psychiatry and Behavioural Medicine, University of Alabama. Author of Java Hill: An African Journey.