The Mookse and the Gripes discussion
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Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun
The Goldsmiths Prize
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2016 Goldsmiths Shortlist: Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun, by Sarah Ladipo Manyika
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If anyone is wondering where the title is from, it is taken from the poem Donkey On by Mary Ruefle, from the book Trances of the Blast. Published by Wave Books.Donkey On
When I am alone I make a sound
the lord does not understand.
Then he makes the sound of a helicopter receding.
Then my sound goes after his sound.
My sound sounds like an ordinary bowl of oatmeal
that can sometimes be almost liquid
and sometimes effect a crust.
His sound is small and bitter,
capable of great strength
and universal flowering,
as if the world will never stop expanding
once helicopters are gone.
Of course, I can only make one sound a year
so sometimes it sounds like
Please guess what I want to tell you
And he says
Without a mother it would be good to know English?
And I press this question into a photograph album
without a comma,
which is severely inadequate to the task of
reconstructing a life.
So I say
Perhaps I am too handmade?
And he says
It is spring, I am the peppermint king!
And then he does something generous:
he drops me a private year
wrapped in plastic,
tied up with string.
The only question is how to spend it,
so I carry it on my back
like a mule bringing ice cream
to the sun.
Added my review of this one, accessible via the link in the message title.My first impression from a Goldsmiths perspective, given the prize remit, was a little negative, in that any innovation is certainly not in the narrative form itself, which is pretty conventional (the poem from which the title is taken is not at all representative of the novel.)
But it has grown on me as I have both re-read and reflected on it, and seen from interviews what the author was trying to do differently, give voice to "characters that are often invisible due to ..age, socioeconomic status, gender or ethnicity."
It is also very nicely done in only 114 pages.
Don't think this will, or should, take the prize but a nice inclusion on the shortlist.
But I think people's take on this may relate to whether they think literature, and indeed literary prizes, should or should not attempt to correct imbalances in society and indeed in historic literary output.
Love to hear views from others.....
I finished this morning and just got online to look up the poem thanks for posting that.I loved everything about this. My only complaint was that is wasn't longer. I don't know what I think about literary prizes attempting to correct imbalances in society but in my own personal reading I try to be as diverse as I can and following lesser known prizes like this one really helps with that.
The only other book on the list I have read is Hot Milk which I also liked so I have high hopes for the rest of them.
I think what I am struggling with a little with this one as a novel for this prize, as opposed to a novel for say the Booker (where it would definitely beat most on the shortlist) is whether it really ticks the boxes of "creative daring ... fiction that breaks the mould or opens up new possibilities for the novel form .. a book that is deemed genuinely novel and which embodies the spirit of invention that characterises the genre at its best."But I think it breaks the mould in subject matter. Your review sums it up perfectly " is so refreshing to read a story with such vibrant diverse characters that talks about race and aging in such a positive way".
I'm increasingly less convinced about this as Goldsmith's material as I've read others on the list. The judges own comments as to why it is there lead with:
"A fiction about a septuagenarian black women is almost completely uncharted territory in British literature, marking it out as innovative subject matter."
Which seems a weak justification to go toe to toe with the other books on the list where the very narrative forms are mostly so innovative.
To be fair it continues:
"This novel also eschews plot and employs multiple narrators and subtle shifts in points of view to build a portrait of a Nigerian yoga enthusiast who guards and enjoys her independence, even when circumstances consprire otherwise. It is a unique meditation on loneliness and the desire to live fully into own age."
Which is pretty much what we discussed above.
But it still feels rather thin.
I agree with you Paul. I just personally really liked it and it's hard for me to separate my personal enjoyment vs its prize worthiness.
I agree, Paul. As a novel, I really liked it. As a Goldsmiths contender, I did not really see where the innovation is. I can see that it is an unusual topic, but I don't think that is, in itself, sufficient justification. Also I am not sure about the "eschews plot" comment. Plot is secondary, true, but not avoided.
Neil wrote: "I agree, Paul. As a novel, I really liked it. As a Goldsmiths contender, I did not really see where the innovation is. I can see that it is an unusual topic, but I don't think that is, in itself, s..."Yes felt like the judges struggling to justify its inclusion. Actually one of the blurbs on the novel is from one of the judges, and Ladipo Manyika when asked, pre prize, for her favourite writers listed one of the judges, so it does seem a book they are keen to promote.
And to be fair a book worth promoting (my 3 star rating is in a Goldsmoths context) and one that otherwise may not have got much attention, which you can't entirely say about the other 5 (we collectively managed to pick them all as possibles). Just this particular prize doesn't seem the right vehicle.
An article on Why it Matters that Sarah L. Manyika is on the Goldsmiths Prize Shortlisthttp://brittlepaper.com/2016/10/matte...
This video filmed for the author's reading (which she couldn't attend in person) is definitely worth a watchvimeo.com/189304254
“Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun” is a lovely book, packed with interesting characters, written beautifully. The story also left me feeling saddened. That’s saddened when reflecting how short life is for us all, and saddened by the ravages of old age.There cannot be too many stories whose main character is seventy five years old. And even fewer stories where that seventy five year old remains feisty; and who continues to rejoice in new friendships; and who continues to regard themselves as glamorous.
Morayo, our lady, comments (p 74) “That’s my life, Sunshine, my books” and that doubtless resonates with many of us on this forum.
Having praised ‘Mule’, I cannot put it in my best of the best category. It’s just too short (at 118 pages). The scope for extended character development within this book is immense. There are too many conflicts for this novella /short story.
I’m not of the Ian McEwan school of thought that many novels are too long and of the virtues of shorter books or novels that can be read at one sitting. That reflects my opportunity to read uninterrupted as a long distance commuter; a fortuitous state of affairs that I appreciate is not open to many readers.
Two other short books I’ve read recently elicited very different responses in me. The Housekeeper and The Professor (Yoko Ogawa) is the closest comparison to “Mule” and equally lovely. By contrast Grief is the Thing with Feathers (Max Porter), a Goldsmith nominee last year (2015), is described as profound and emotional, but for me, personally I was left unmoved.
Sarah Ladipo Manyika’s video introduction to herself and to “Mule” which Paul posted above is well worth viewing, and “Mule” is an interesting, if too brief, glimpse of an as yet little known writer’s work
New Statesman who are a partner in the prize running a Q+A with each of authors. Sarah Ladipo Manyika'shttp://www.newstatesman.com/culture/b...
Like a Mule is a beautifully crafted novella about ageing and loss of control.Dr Morayo Da Silva is an elderly Nigerian woman, living in San Francisco after a lifetime of reading, exploration and a failed marriage to a diplomat. She is wealthy and classy. She is used to being in control and tends to look disdainfully on those who lack her sophistication. Morayo is kind, yes, but also deeply judgemental. So it is a shock to her system to find herself in hospital, dependent on the kindness of those she might once have been able to take pity on - the single mothers, nurses, porters and people she never even meets.
The real joy in the novella is Sarah Ladipo Manyika's ability to create a world from a single line. A line about books, perhaps, or art, or furniture is able to tell the reader so much about Morayo's life and values and prejudices. Every line is crafted so carefully and reads so perfectly.
The narration does strange things. Different characters take it in turns to narrate chapters - a divide that is not clearly flagged and can lead to some puzzlement initially. Even stranger is that the narration can change hands within chapters. It i therefore not always clear who is narrating and about whom they are speaking. This builds up a feeling of a world that is harder to control - just as Morayo is finding herself helpless within her own world. And like Morayo, the reader has a choice of fighting it or going along with it smiling. I chose the latter.
Like a Mule is a referential novel, referencing much of African culture, literature and art. It portrays Nigeria as a vibrant society; Lagos is a city that Morayo misses despite having achieved wealth and comfort in San Francisco. It is refreshing to see a character who is proud to be African and who is able to see both the strengths and weaknesses of her new homeland. Some of the references may be lost on readers who are unfamiliar with Nigerian culture (the title, for example, comes from a poem whose relevance is not obvious) but there is so much joy to be had in the writing even without getting every reference.
This is short - and probably merits a second read.
I assume it is not just me, but it was a nice touch to get a message in my Goodreads mail this morning from the author thanking me for reading it.
And there was I congratulating myself on my unique review eliciting a personal response from Sarah......!!!I agree, Neil, a very nice touch from Sarah Ladipo Manyika and/or her publishing house
Indeed a very nice touch - perhaps I ought to restore the 4th star I initially awarded then deducted.
I got a nice message from her also ... doesn't really diminish it for me that others got it also ... a very gracious touch regardless!
Doug wrote: "I got a nice message from her also ... doesn't really diminish it for me that others got it also ... a very gracious touch regardless!"Agreed.
I'm late to this discussion again, so Ill be brief. I just want to add to the record how much I loved this book. I was amazed that such a slim story with so few voices could tell a character's life story. Not only Morayo, but the cook, the husband who came to the nursing home everyday to see his wife, Sunshine, even the homeless girl became people I knew. It was a love letter to life and I thought brilliant.
2016
129 pp
Morayo Da Silva, a cosmopolitan Nigerian woman, lives in hip San Francisco. On the cusp of seventy-five, she is in good health and makes the most of it, enjoying road trips in her vintage Porsche, chatting to strangers, and recollecting characters from her favourite novels. Then she has a fall and her independence crumbles. Without the support of family, she relies on friends and chance encounters. As Morayo recounts her story, moving seamlessly between past and present, we meet Dawud, a charming Palestinian shopkeeper, Sage, a feisty, homeless Grateful Dead devotee, and Antonio, the poet whom Morayo desired more than her ambassador husband.
A subtle story about ageing, friendship and loss, this is also a nuanced study of the erotic yearnings of an older woman.