The Mind of a hero, a novel by Chinonso Aguzie is a historical fiction set in the eighteenth century about the traditions, spirituality, masculinity, religion, and the sociocultural life of African society in the precolonial era. The novel uses Umumbara, a small village settlement in Igboland in the eastern part of Nigeria as a template to tell its story. However, the novel clearly narrates the life of African people during the precolonial era capturing the African continent in its untainted natural state before the civilization.
7 Things You Don’t Know About the Book
- The Transatlantic Slave Trade: The Mind of a Hero opens up by showing us how a peaceful small African society could later turn into chaos as a result of the insatiable demands for slaves by the Europeans which later transited to the advent of the transatlantic slave trade. The novel also tries to remind us that the Europeans inherently did not create the slave trade, rather they serve as catalyst that enhanced the intensity of slave trade which later climaxed to what was known now as the transatlantic slave trade, and which later became a destructive phenomenon in the African society.
- Religion: Highlighting Africa as a religious continent, the book tries to enlighten the readers on how religion is one of the core pillars of African culture and tradition. Through meticulous research which was apparent in the book, the author exposed what was the true religion of the African society even before civilization took over.
- Tradition and Culture: if anyone is looking for a source to understand what the true African tradition looked like, ‘The Mind of a Hero’ would be a go-to. This is because the book did not just tell a story, it was a compendium of what African culture and tradition looked like.
- Masculinity: in an already deteriorating world of 21 century where most men seemed lost in what a real masculinity looks like, in the book, through the voices of its characters, the book narrates and paints the pictures of true masculine men. It demonstrates the benefits of a man to possess the ability to stand up for himself, for the people he loves, and for his society.
- Colonialism: The book also described the evidence of colonialism in Africa. Through its powerful storytelling, it narrates how a society can be altered forever by the influence of strangers.
- Spiritual: After the religious nature of the African culture comes its spirituality. Through excellent narrative backed up by meticulous research, the book shows that Africa as a continent is well steeped in spirituality.
- Folklores: The book reminds us that African culture is not yet complete without its folktales, which are the stories passed down from each generation to the other.
