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Soundscape and narrative dynamics in Chinelo Okparanta’s Under the Udala Trees

2019; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 13; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/21674736.2019.1641647

2167-4744

Vincent R. Ogoti,

Caribbean and African Literature and Culture

Chinelo Okparanta’s novel, Under the Udala Trees, offers possibilities for a multi-sensory engagement that goes beyond an ordinary textual reading. This essay focuses on the concept of the soundscape and what it constitutes in Okparanta’s novel. It examines how Okparanta employs rural and church soundscapes to articulate the concept of sociability, construct, and deconstruct space. Through a sonic reading of the novel, the essay demonstrates that a focus on soundscape not only allows us to unravel complexities often ignored in an ordinary textual analysis but also extends possibilities of reading what would otherwise be considered as a schematic text with a predictable plot that is intentionally crafted to highlight the novel’s morality. The essay employs a sonic reading that goes beyond an analysis of audible sounds and human voices to include an examination of inaudible sounds mediated by the “more-than-human world.”