The African (Conton novel)

The novel turns autobiographical elements into a call for Africa to move as a continent beyond apartheid. Wole Soyinka criticised its utopian "love optimism", calling the novel's main character, Kamara, an "unbelievable prig".^[1]

Contemporary reviewer Mercedes Mackay describe the novel as a "promising first novel" which excels in highlighting the author's "rich sense of humor" and his role as "a fine philosopher".^[2] Mackay compared the novel to the debuts of Cyprian Ekwensi (People of the City), Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart) and Kamara Laye (The African Child).^[2]