The Shadow of the Sun
Encyclopedia
The Shadow of the Sun is a non-fiction
book by the Polish
writer Ryszard Kapuściński
, published in English translation in 2001.
Kapuściński, a journalist
who covered Africa
from 1957 to the 1990s, wrote a number of books about his experiences in the continent and all over the world which have been widely translated. This book is a collection of essays spanning more than four decades. Each could stand alone as a finished work, yet together they form a unique portrait of Africa, its peoples and the writer himself. From the initial enthusiasm in the 1950s when colonial
power began to wane to the destruction of that dream and war and starvation, Kapuściński sees it all.
While acknowledging European colonial culpability, he refuses to rinse his words in guilt, detailing numerous problems in African governments and societies. The Shadow of the Sun is reminiscent of Gianni Celati
's Adventures in Africa, employing similarly symphonic atmospherics that can bear poetic witness to both the tragic history of Rwanda
and the Ngubi beetle, which toils in the desert to produce the sweat it drinks to survive. As much about the plastic water container as the warlord
and preferring the African shanty town to the Manhattan
skyscraper as a monument to human achievement, what Kapuściński, the author of Shah of Shahs
describes is not Africa, which he claims does not exist except geographically, but a distillation of life itself, through its religiosity, its trees, the frightening abundance of youth, sun that "curdles the blood" and terrorising, ruling armies that fall in a day.
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
book by the Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
writer Ryszard Kapuściński
Ryszard Kapuscinski
Ryszard Kapuściński was a Polish journalist and writer whose dispatches in book form brought him a global reputation. Also a photographer and poet, he was born in Pińsknow in Belarusin the Kresy Wschodnie or eastern borderlands of the second Polish Republic, into poverty: he would say later that...
, published in English translation in 2001.
Kapuściński, a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
who covered Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
from 1957 to the 1990s, wrote a number of books about his experiences in the continent and all over the world which have been widely translated. This book is a collection of essays spanning more than four decades. Each could stand alone as a finished work, yet together they form a unique portrait of Africa, its peoples and the writer himself. From the initial enthusiasm in the 1950s when colonial
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
power began to wane to the destruction of that dream and war and starvation, Kapuściński sees it all.
While acknowledging European colonial culpability, he refuses to rinse his words in guilt, detailing numerous problems in African governments and societies. The Shadow of the Sun is reminiscent of Gianni Celati
Gianni Celati
Gianni Celati is an Italian writer, translator and literary critic.- Biography :Gianni Celati was born in Sondrio, but spent his infancy and adolescence in the province of Ferrara...
's Adventures in Africa, employing similarly symphonic atmospherics that can bear poetic witness to both the tragic history of Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
and the Ngubi beetle, which toils in the desert to produce the sweat it drinks to survive. As much about the plastic water container as the warlord
Warlord
A warlord is a person with power who has both military and civil control over a subnational area due to armed forces loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority. The term can also mean one who espouses the ideal that war is necessary, and has the means and authority to engage in war...
and preferring the African shanty town to the Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
skyscraper as a monument to human achievement, what Kapuściński, the author of Shah of Shahs
Shah of Shahs
Shah of Shahs, published in 1982, is Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuściński's analysis of the decline and fall of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran....
describes is not Africa, which he claims does not exist except geographically, but a distillation of life itself, through its religiosity, its trees, the frightening abundance of youth, sun that "curdles the blood" and terrorising, ruling armies that fall in a day.