Ayesha Harruna Attah - Tamale Blues

Tamale Blues is a coming-home story, though the protagonist, Nana, hasn't ever been to Tamale, the comparatively poorer, undeveloped city where her extended family still lives. Nana is one of the lucky few; her parents have made it rich in Accra, Ghana's capital. She dreams of London and, as the end of her secondary schooling nears, she knows a better, cleaner, wealthier life awaits her abroad. It's just a matter of taking.

But Nana's mother has other ideas. She tells her daughter it is high time she visits her father's mother and siblings.

"…you've never been to see the family in the North. When you're done with your A-levels, you may end up in England or American for school, but you should know more about your country first. You'll thank us later."

But will she? Nana is a sweet girl, but her thoughts and reactions suggest she is rather sheltered. Her dreams are directed outward; we can tell that Ghana is already a memory for her, and now it's just a matter of her body catching up. London, Paris, New York, the world! Who would want Ghana, and who would want this:

Two sets of steps led to two doors, both green at the bottom. Nana hung her towel and sponge on the nails behind the first door and headed for the other room. A heavy stench hit as she entered, accompanied with a low intermittent buzzing. In the middle was a concrete ledge with a hole. There were brown stains around the hole. Nana couldn't believe such a place existed. She dashed out, trying not to throw up

Her grandmother's life in Tamale is dirty, unclean, poor, and lacking in the comforts of entertainment and leisure to which Nana is accustomed. It's a horrifying shift down, and that's how she sees it - Tamale is a punishment, a lesson, an indication that a terrible life could await.

Soon, though, Nana meets Rafik. He is handsome, seems cultured, speaks well and, mostly importantly, quickens something within her. It's desire, of course, a sensation she is unfamiliar with and, perhaps more importantly, inexperienced. She's clumsy in lust, spraying her feelings about her until it's painfully obvious her heart has been given to Rafik. Her grandmother notices, and off she goes, packed up and carted back to Accra.

Ayesha Harruna Attah's story follows a classic character arc. Once the opening paragraphs have been read it's clear where the story is headed, and this initial prediction is satisfied by the remainder of Tamale Blues. We know that Nana will be horrified by her surroundings just as we know she will find a reason to appreciate the ways of others. The question, then, revolves around Attah's handling of her subject matter, and her ability to bring to life Nana, but also Tamale.

How does she fare? On the first, well. Nana is a pleasingly naive young lady, and she remains so throughout. Her initial disgust at the open toilet, and the general dirt and muck of the place, is handled well, and we believe it. She dislikes Tamale until she meets a handsome older man, and then suddenly finds a reason to appreciate the city and this, too, is believable. Her youthful reactions are honest and true, and if she feels too strongly in one direction or another, well - she's sixteen. Life is more intense then, and the colours are brighter. It would be churlish to chastise her explosions of intense feeling.

Less successful is the creation of Tamale. I have never been to Ghana and, perhaps because of that, I would like, in a story highlighting the differences between the high and the low, to really feel the high and really see the low. I want the smells of the place, the sway of the trees, the dusty corners, the buildings, the history, the food. I want to know what I don't know, which is most everything. Here, Attah could have given us more. We see the brushstrokes of the city, but the paint is very thin indeed.

But the story is Nana's, which perhaps explains the lightness of description. She experiences the world with the exhausting absurdity of the very young, when everything is dramatic and everything has an immediate and excessive impact. This emotional state, which is as sustained as it is innocent, almost invites trauma and trouble; it is a testimony to Attah's skill in characterisation that, as Nana and Rafik become closer, the primary thought in my mind was - I don't want anything bad to happen to her.

And that's the best and last thing I have to say about the story. Tamale Blues convinced me that Nana felt and thought what Attah told me she was thinking and feeling, and isn't that something?

Tamale Blues by Ayesha Harruna Attah is a short story from StoryTime's publication, African Roar (edited by Emmanuel Sigauke and Ivor W. Hartmann). This review is part of a series intending to examine each story from the collection, in an effort to broaden awareness of both the project itself, and the excellent array of authors contained within.

Author	Ayesha Harruna Attah
Title	Tamale Blues
Nationality	Ghanian
Publisher	StoryTime
Availability: ---Amazon US

See Also

Reviews of other short stories from the African Roar Series