The Folkloric Influence on Odafe Atogun’s Novels and the Artist’s Craftsmanship

This research examines the three novels of a contemporary Nigerian novelist, Odafe Atogun whose narrative style has been generously compared to those of Franz Kafka, George Orwell and Amos Tutuola. These three novelists have been associated with the folkloric style of prose narrative. This study evaluated Atogun’s works of fiction as belonging to the Tall Tale category of the folklore storyline. The novelists identified with this group adopt plots, characters and events that are outstandingly intriguing within the realm of reality. The study adopts magical realism as theoretical parameter in the analysis of the novels under study. This is a literary critical tool of inquiry that places emphasis on protagonists, plots and events in novels that are bereft of reality. The reason why Atogun is regarded as a novelist who adopts the surrealistic narrative technique becomes obvious in this study. In conclusion, it is discernable that the novels: Taduno’s Song, Wake Me When I’m Gone and The Cabal by Atogun follow the well acclaimed creative styles of Franz Kafka, Orwell and Tutuola.

Keywords: Trilogy Folkloric Narratives Nigerian Novelist Magical Realism Tall Tale

Author

• Andrew Ibeawuchi Nwagbara
  Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Arts
  Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria
  ai.nwagbara@unizik.edu.ng