Madam has the contours of a girl I knew in Dansoman and sculptures sold at Arts Centre and Bitter Lemon bottles. Slender top and round the rest. A perfect holy roundness that is proof of God’s existence and His goodness furthermore. Her skin is ageless, creaseless, paint. Her lower back a hiding place. The colour brooks no simile. If you have been to Ghana, you know. If you have never been to Ghana then you might not understand the way the darkest skin can glow as with the purest of all lights.
This doesn’t really count as one of my 52, as it’s a short story. I did however enjoy reading Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi so I thought it only right that I find her short story, Driver.
Taiye writes beautifully, and even within the confines of a short story she was able to convey through words the images she described effectively.
The story took me to Ghana, my motherland as Selasi narrates the story of Webster, a driver who is based in Accra.The constant references to ‘half caste’ shows Ghana is a country where shade matters somewhat, and political correctness is somewhat alien to this rapidly modernising country.
I listened to the book as a free download from Audible. It was her submission for Granta’s 20 Best Young British Writers. Her story was 34 minutes in length. As someone, who is still coming to grips with modern technology when it comes to reading/ consuming stories via the digital medium this was the perfect length.
The link below provides a link to the story on Sound Cloud – hope you enjoy:
I enjoyed the story, and if you’ve not experienced Selasie this provides you with a good introduction to her writing. It may also make you want to visit Ghana. If you do nante yie (have a safe journey)!
Elaine Adu-Poku 