余靜遠(yuǎn)，中國(guó)社會(huì)科學(xué)院外國(guó)文學(xué)研究所

M ukoma Wa Ngugi is the son of the iconic African writer and Nobel Prize candidate Ngugi Wa Thiong’o.He holds a BA in English and Political Science from Albright College，an MA in Creative Writing from Boston University and a PhD in English from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.He is an associate Professor of English at Cornell University，as well as a creative writer and the author of four novels：Nairobi Heat（2009），Black Star Nairobi（2013），Mrs.Shaw（2015）andUnbury Our Dead with Song（2021）.In 2013，Mukoma Wa Ngugi was named as one of the100 most influential Africans byNewAfricanmagazine.

The Rise of the African Novel：Politics of Language，Identity，and Ownershipis Mukoma’s first book of literary criticism，and is also the first monograph on African literary criticism to link African language and literature from the late 1880s to the early 1940s with the work of contemporary writers of international repute from the African continent and the diaspora.The central thesis of this work is to ask how and why the idea of“African literature”in its current form has arisen.In doing so，Mukoma revisits two persistent issues in African literature：the definition of African literature and the language problem.In fact，the debate on the definition and language of African literature began as early as the late 1950s and early 1960s，with the 1962 Conference of African Writers of English Expression at Makerere University in Uganda being a foundational moment in the constitution of African literature，which“set in motion a literary tradition that would engulf subsequent generations in the debates around the definition and category of African literature...future debates about the languages ofAfrican literature，the role of writers in po litical change，the writer in continental Africa versus the diaspora，and the relationship of African aesthetics to European aesthetics”（2）.1Mukoma Wa Ngugi，The Rise of theAfrican Novel：Politics of Language，Identity，and Ownership（Ann Arbor：University of Michigan Press，2018）.At the same time，the conference led to four interrelated consequences：the subsequent neglect of African writing in African languages，especially those thatflourished prior to the conference and were written in South African languages；the predominance of English as the language of eminence in African writing；the overwhelming focus on the social realist novel as the best choice of form；and the over-reliance of writers and readers alike on Europe and European standards of evaluation as the critical matrix that is inextricably linked to colonialism，against which African writing would be set and through which the domination of the“English metaphysical empire”（20）and“the ideological superstructure of English”as standard-bearer would continue to flourish.

In his foreword，“Manufacturing the African Novel：The Makerere Writers and Questions of Language，Identity，and Ownership，”Mukoma highlights two arguments that illustrate what he calls a major crisis in African literary criticism.The first argument is that Chinua Achebe’sThings Fall Aparthas been translated into more than 50 languages，making it the most translated African novel，but in the nearly 60 years since it was first published，there has been no authoritative translation into Igbo，Achebe’s mother tongue，even though Achebe“understood himself as，and is read as，part of theAfrican literary tradition”（1）.The second argument is that early African writers，especially South African writers，were marginalized and even unceremoniously abandoned by the African literary tradition.These two arguments prompt Mukoma to ask two key research questions for this book：Firstly，why did early African writing，and literary criticism，remain marginalized rather than become part of the established African literary tradition？Secondly，why did writers and critics of theAfrican literary tradition，aware of the specificity of writing and criticism in European languages，become the greatest defenders of European languages，while turning away from African languages？In fact，according to Mukoma，long before Achebe and the Makerere generation，there was a literature written in African languages，such as the epic novelChakaby Thomas Mofolo of South Africa.Mukoma argues that for more than half a century before the Makerere conference，these writers had laid the foundations for the beginnings of a modern or modernistAfrican literary tradition.In asking these questions，Mukoma wonders what African literature would have looked like if its traditions had not been broken.By zooming in on the issues of definition and language in African literature and focusing on the broader topic of the politics of language，identity and ownership，The Rise of the African Novelraises the question of how and why the ideological superstructure of European languages（primarily English and French）continues to flourish in the wake of colonialism and imperialism.In short，as Mukoma concludes，“if I were to sum this whole book in one sentence，it would be to say that it is about how the early South African，Makerere，and post-Makerere writers and their literary critics have responded，for better and worse，to the English metaphysicalempire”（20）.

Makerere’s generation expressed a clear ideological tendency to define African literature as literature written in European languages.In Mukoma’s view，this reductionist way of African literary tradition excludes certain genres，such as detective fiction，and it does not provide space for the inclusion of African immigrant writers.The African literary tradition，such as that constituted by the Makerere Conference and the Generation，“rest［s］on a false foundation”（146）in that it deprives itself of its South African literary roots，forces it to accept European literary and cultural aesthetic standards，narrows its literary scope and separates it from the diaspora and the new immi grants.However，“the more borderless we allowAfrican literature to be in terms of its literary histo ry，languages，and genres，the richer the African literary tradition”（161）. Mukoma therefore callsfor a broadening and deepening of theAfrican literary tradition，which includes earlyAfrican writ ing，especially texts written in African languages，as well as literature from the diaspora and otherforms of literature，be it scientific，criminal or romantic，in his own words，“our job as literary crit ics is to deepen the African literary tradition by reading early African writing within it. And tobroaden it by reading literatures from the diaspora，and other forms—science，crime，and romance” （187）；he opts for an African literary tradition of“rooted transnationalism”（164），a concept bor rowed from Anthony Appiah. By freeing the African literary tradition from the traps of history，race，content，genre and geography，our understanding of it will be broadened and deepened to al low for the inclusion not only of literature from theAfrican diaspora，but also from the BlackAtlan tic region.The concept of“rooted transnationalism”breaks with the anti-nationalist tenet of“Afro politan”and the uncritical“Globalectic”of the ethnic diaspora，and provides an illuminating frame work for the new understanding of African literature.

However，Mukoma’s generous approach to African literature leads to a dead end.By his own admission it is a dead end，or at least“a paradox：to not fence in African literature，we have to open it up to its past literary history，to its present rooted transnational state，and to a future where roots are everywhere，and the center nowhere”（186）.To what extent does the notion of an African literary tradition extend without reaching a breaking point and without hollowing out the meaning？Can an African literature without borders，without walls，without roots，but as a crossroads of literatures from around the world，retain its“African”label or name？We can read between these lines the irony that in trying to cleanse theAfrican literary tradition from the spectre of a European metaphysical empire，Mukomahas subjected it to the tyranny of an entrenched cosmopolitan literary empire.

All in all，Mukoma’s views on the question of whatAfrican literature is and in what languages itshould be written are insightful and deserve to be taken seriously by the academic community. Thisbook will become a foundational text in African literary studies as it raises questions about the natureof African literature and criticism. It will become essential reading for scholars as well as for generalreaders seeking to learn more about the history of African literature and the ways in which critical con sensus can be manufactured and rewarded at the expense of larger historical literary traditions.