The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi; by Arthur Japin; translated by Ina Rilke; Knopf, 384 pages; $26.95.
Told as a memoir with flashbacks, this is a 19th century historical novel of unusual power and authenticity. In 1900, Kwasi Boachi, 73, living on a coffee plantation in the Dutch East Indies, looks back on his strange life, beginning in West Africa. When he and his cousin, Kwame, are forcibly sent to Holland at the age of 10 to receive a European education, they realize their past lives are over.
Kwame works tenaciously to hang onto his African heritage, while Kwasi works quietly for assimilation into a new, white culture.
The author has worked so hard at finding documents to support this story that the product is almost convincing enough to be legitimate history, even though he is a white writer presenting a black point of view. Nevertheless, there are gaps in the research, and Japin has artfully filled those in, using his vivid imagination as he tried to get into his subject's head.
Most intriguing of all, Japin wrote the book in Dutch, then worked closely with Ina Rilke, who carefully translated it into English, retaining the author's voice and style to an astonishing degree.
This is a tragic story of the results of European colonialism in Africa. Two little boys begin life anew in the midst of fear and discrimination. There are numerous examples of the difficulties of racism they encounter in their new white surroundings, and even though they do receive an education in art, music and literature, they are held back by cultural forces they never understand.
They are forced to play second-fiddle their whole lives — slaves, really, with an aristocratic essence. There is simply no way they can rise to the top, even though their talents and abilities are more impressive than those of most of the people who surround them. Under the system of colonialism, a black person can never be treated equally in this overwhelmingly white society.
Kwame reacts predictably with anger and aggression, while Kwasi reacts with intellectual cleverness and carefully developed social skills. Some readers may think Kwame is the hero of the story, even though he eventually returns to Africa to find he is an exile there, too. But Kwasi is by far the most compelling character. Thoughtful, brilliant, yet restrained, he accomplishes as much as anyone could expect of him under such demeaning circumstances.
The most memorable portion of the novel is Kwasi's decision to publicly attack his own West African culture to gain acceptance into a school club. The so-called "Five Columns" speech is an authentic document that the author uses as the precipitating factor in permanently dividing the two princes. Using specific examples, Kwasi criticizes the religion, customs and thinking of his forebears.
He says, "I censured the state of knowledge, the traditions of kinship and social relations, of love and work, of the divinities both living and dead. One after the other. As though I had to tear the roots out of my own flesh."
The author's deft use of real documents, often quoted at length, make this story believable. Not only that, his research and his imagination are so complementary that the story continues to a convincing climax. The story is exceptionally well-told and emotionally absorbing — and it is only the beginning of a promising literary career for Japin.
E-MAIL: dennis@desnews.com