Seasons of Four Faces

This fictional rendition of the richness and diversity of African history, culture, and ethos, spans Egypt, Mali, Asante, and the Gold Coast, by condensing time to create a breathtaking tapestry of resistance and struggle and of myth mingled with reality. It is as disarming as it is brilliant.

Seasons of Four Faces begins in Egypt, where we meet three people in the middle of the night en route to commit murder. The three subsequently become trusted confidantes of the new pharaoh who ascends to the throne on a cloud of suspicion. This forms the fulcrum for the unraveling of a series of events that takes the characters, particularly Tiempo, the warrior, and Sharifa, the healer, on a timeless journey. What a fraught journey it is, with tension and danger ever lurking. Theirs is a love story like no other, brewed in a crucible defying a range of challenges and interruptions. But it would be a gross mischaracterization to view the novel solely as a love story. While offering the titillation of a romance always hanging on the cusp of hopelessness, this epic is much more than that.

In this imaginative novel, we are witnesses to a range of events in Pharoah's court, to wars and peace, to love and hate, and to the introduction of the Biblical Moses, whose arrival on the scene totally usurps the tranquility of the times. Then, Mansa Musa comes alive in a Mali about to be firmly placed on the world map through his famous pilgrimage to Mecca and unprecedentedly ostentatious display of wealth. The novel deeply ensconces us in his palace and in the planning of the trip amid much pomp, without losing sight of the human motivations behind nation building and its challenges. In Yaa Asantewaa's Asante, Kwakye shows us a history of heroism, even if tampered by the agony of defeat. The description of the conjuring of a Golden Stool from the heavens and its magical connotations is a testament to the magisterial writing of an author at the height of his powers. And then we are partakers of the struggle for Ghana's independence, meeting characters as diverse as fishermen on the deep seas, ex-servicemen seeking recompense for their service, and political leaders such as Kwame Nkrumah.

Kwakye grabs our attention with a riveting plot line told through vivid descriptions. It is as if we are walking side by side with the characters, living with them, observing with them, feeling with them, and hoping with them, evoking varying moods at once somber and hopeful. Whether invoking images of the Nile as a source of life, Mali's Niani in its golden splendor, the mysteries embedded in Asante's flora and fauna, and the myths provoked by the Atlantic Ocean of Accra, the novel's vista provides a breathtaking tapestry of a continent very easily misunderstood. Kwakye's inventive portrayal provides insights into the ethos and cultures of the continent, while also provoking deep thought. It is as if we are gathered with time and space as the storytellers, listening to a series of stories that are themselves timeless and transcendent.