More than 40 years ago, when Chinua Achebe's daughter started preschool in Nigeria, the internationally famous author of Things Fall Apart discovered that all the school texts for African children were written by Westerners. To right this imbalance, Achebe created this short novel, Chike and the River, first published as a pamphlet in 1966, the story of a Nigerian boy who overcomes fear and poverty to cross the mighty Niger.
As the tale opens, 11-year-old Chike is forced to leave the comforting familiarity of the small Nigerian village where he lives with his mother, to live instead with his uncle in the larger town of Onitsha on the banks of the Niger River. In spite of his mother's warnings and fears of the river, Chike longs to cross it in a ferry before a new bridge makes such crossings obsolete, but doesn't have the necessary shilling to buy a round-trip fare.
The plot unfolds through one mishap after another, as every plan to secure the money fails him. Accompanied by his two school friends, bad boy Ezekiel and good boy Samuel (his initials are S.M.O.G. for "Save Me O God!"), Chike avoids stealing to get the needed fare and refrains from writing deceitful letters to English schoolboys begging for money, but when he finds a six-pence--half the fare--his hopes are dashed when he's cheated by the local magician, Professor Chandus, the money-doubler.
Chike ultimately succeeds in crossing the river, only to find that he's missed the last ferry home and is trapped on the other side. Too late he discovers that the lorry where he's hiding is being used by small-time thieves in collusion with a corrupt night watchman to commit a robbery. Unable to escape, Chike finds himself in the dangerous position of being the only witness to a crime.
Winner of the 2007 Man Booker International Prize, Achebe has a lean, clear style to his prose, and the tale works just as well for adults as for children. Perfectly complemented by bold, simple woodcut illustrations by Edel Rodriguez, the austere honesty of the tale is gripping, appealing and appropriately suspenseful, without ever being condescending or culturally cryptic. Chike is a perfect little Everyman as he struggles to fulfill his dreams, sympathetic and well-meaning, yet never cloying.
Without a single sensational slip, this succinct little reading delight is an even-handed slice of life that depicts poverty and hardship realistically but with a dignified reserve, as a very likable young Nigerian boy learns the tough lessons of life, with honors. --Nick DiMartino
Shelf Talker: A Nigerian boy faces fear and poverty to cross the Niger River in this gripping and appealing 1966 tale for both middle readers and adults by the author of Things Fall Apart.