title: Wizard of the Crow: A Novel
author:  Ngugi wa Thiong'o 
description: <i>Starred Review.</i> The fictional Republic of Aburiria chronicled in this sprawling, dazzling satirical fable is an exaggeration of sordid African despotism. At the top, a grandiose Ruler with "the power to declare any month in the year the seventh month" and his sycophantic cabinet plan to climb to heaven with a modern-day Tower of Babel funded by the Global Bank; beneath them, a cabal of venal officials and opportunistic businessmen jockey for a piece of the pie; at the bottom are the unemployed masses who wait in endless lines behind every help-wanted sign. Kamiti, an archetypal New Man with two university degrees and no job prospects, sets up shop as a wizard; with the help of Nyawira, member of both an underground dissident movement and a feminist dance troupe, he dispenses therapeutic sorcery to a citizenry that finds witchcraft less absurd than everyday life. Kenyan novelist Thiong'o (<i>Petals of Blood</i>) mounts a nuanced but caustic political and social satire of the corruption of African society, with a touch of magical realismor, perhaps, realistic magic, as the wizard's tricks hinge on holding a not-so-enchanted mirror to his clients' hidden self-delusions. The result is a sometimes lurid, sometimes lyrical reflection on Africa's dysfunctionsand possibilities. <i>(Aug.)</i> <br />Copyright  Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
zlib_text: This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues are
  products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any
  resemblance to any persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely
  coincidental.
  
  
  AT THE SIGN OF THE CROW AND MOON
  
  
  All rights reserved.
  
  
  Published by Mitchell Hogan
  
  
  Copyright © 2016 by [Mitchell Hogan](http://www.mitchellhogan.com)
  
  
  First Printing, 2016
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Table of Contents
  
  
  [Copyright](part0000.html#auto_bookmark_toc_1)
  
  
  [At the Sign of the Crow and Moon](part0003.html#auto_bookmark_toc_1)
  
  
  [To the Reader](part0004.html#auto_bookmark_toc_1)
  
  
  [Sorcery Ascendant Sequence](part0005.html#auto_bookmark_toc_1)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Also by Mitchell Hogan, the Sorcery Ascendant Sequence, in reading order:
  
  
  
  
  
  [![](../images/00001.jpeg)](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RLVDGFC)
  
  
  [A Crucible of Souls US](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RLVDGFC)
  
  
  [UK](http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00RLVDGFC) :
  [DE](http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00RLVDGFC) :
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