Today is my pleasure to welcome Ako Eyoung to So Many Precious Books, So Little Time. I just loved The Vision of the Blind King and am so exited to have him here today! You can read my review here.
Teddy: Why don’t we begin by getting to know you better? Would you tell us a little about yourself and your background?
Ako: Back in Cameroon I was a political cartoonist for a local paper. Today I am living in the United States as a political exile. I have a bachelor’s degree in history and political science but I think I was born for artistic expression.
Teddy: How much of your novel is based in fiction and how much is influenced by your youth in Cameroon? Does the novel contain any oral traditions or interpretations of oral history?
Ako: The Kingdom I write about is a real kingdom that actually existed, It was called Kemet and was invaded by the Hyksos in the year 1720 BC. At the time of the invasion the kingdom was ruled by King Nehesy, who was the son of Neferhotep, the king before him. The invaders were led by a man called Salatis, who became king, ruled for about fifteen or sixteen years, and established a dictatorship that saw the beginning of a two hundred year Hykso rule. But of course it is into this setting that I introduce aspects and elements of fiction that serve as props to help with the effective portrayal of the ideas behind the story. And the fact that part of the plot is set in Cameroon proves that the realities of growing up in that part of the world definitely had an influence on my writing. In the book I seek to shed light on some of the reasons behind the economic disparities that engender conflict on the African continent and I use Cameroon to create this dynamic.
As concerns oral tradition, there is actually a character in the novel who is descended from a long line of Oral Historians. In fact there is a scene where he does a recital much in the same way that it was done on the African continent for thousands of years.
Teddy: Give us some insight into one of the main characters of The Vision of a Blind King.
Ako: Abou Bakar is a fifty year old General who is a legend in his own life time. He is a man who fears nothing and no one. In his long and distinguished career as a brilliant General, successive Monarchs have had to rely on him to protect the kingdom from over aggressive foreign kings and warlords. But what no one can see are the secret clouds of heavy doubt that cloak the man’s mind, -doubts that were born more than two decades earlier as a result of an ‘accident’ that shattered his family.
When a foreign army strikes, the current King turns once again to this capable General and confers upon him the mission of defending the land. It is the most important mission he has been conferred yet, and he knows that failure could signal the end of the kingdom. It is a situation that cannot afford any spaces for doubt.
In the struggle between good and evil, Abou Bakar is a warrior on the side of good. He is the representation of the quintessential hero; noble, strong, determined, with good intentions, but only human and thus not perfect.
Teddy: Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?
Ako: Both, depending on the material concerned. What is certain is that things are always changing even as the story is being written. Sometimes in the process of following a preconceived plot, the story will develop a mind of its own and take me down some surprising paths. You never know. It's fun.
Teddy: What is the hardest thing about writing?
Ako: Marketing what has been written.
Teddy: Are you reading at the moment? If so, what?
Ako: I am always reading. Presently I am reading “The trial of Christopher okigbo” by Ali A. Mazrui.
Teddy: Do you have a favorite or inspirational author or novel? What is it about that person or their work that draws you to it?
Ako: I love the works of Chinua Achebe. In my opinion he is a master storyteller with an uncommon ability to paint detailed pictures with words. ‘Arrow of god’ is my favorite of his, and I have read it at least three times. Wole soyinka is another author whose work I enjoy. His use of tension and drama in ‘The swamp dwellers’ for example, has been widely applauded.
I also enjoy reading,Alice Walker, Mario Puzo, John Grisham, Robert le Carre, Paulo coehlo, Geoffery Chaucer, Oscar Wild, William Shakespeare, etc.
Teddy: In The Vision of a Blind King, Melenoc, a very power hungry man whose uncommon fear of death combine to drive him into an unending quest for immortality, risking everything, including his entire kingdom, to attain everlasting life. I was reminded of a story I was read as a child; "The Emperor's New Clothes" when I read the synopsis of your novel - are you familiar with it?
Ako: Yes I am familiar with the story of the emperor’s new clothes. In it, Hans Christian Anderson does a great job of exploring and exposing human insecurity, the extent to which we will go to mask it, and the hypocrisy that is born of that. His main character in the story is an emperor with a huge weakness for material things (fine clothing); a weakness that has blinded him to the point where he is willing to sacrifice untold quantities of the kingdom’s wealth just to dress himself. Needless to say, like most weaknesses, it makes him vulnerable and susceptible for errors. Luckily for him the blindness that seems to have spread from him to the rest of the kingdom has spared the sight of an innocent young child who can see clearly and does not hesitate to call the truth by its name. “The emperor is naked,” he says.
In “The vision of the blind king,” we are dealing with a similar situation. We have a kingdom that, although still rich and powerful, has been greatly weakened by the effects of self-serving egoism. And like Hans Christian Anderson, my intention was to expose the political, economic and socio cultural corruption that contaminates everything when man becomes blinded by an addicting love for power.
Teddy: What was your reasoning for tracing back 4,000 years of strife and struggle affecting this ancient African society through to the present day and laying it on the shoulders of Melenoc? Does your novel mean to provide a lesson to the reader; is this also perhaps part of oral tradition/history?
Ako: Creating a plot line that spans 4000 years of history provides me the opportunity to make the case that in fighting for virtue, humanity has to be truly determined because evil can be very persistent. We find a man who has somehow managed to survive for four millennia; a time during which he scours the earth for an amulet that has the capacity to make him all-powerful. As we follow this man on his journey, it becomes obvious that the amulet has become much more than a quest. It is an obsession for which no sacrifice is too big.
It is important to state at this point that the character of Melenoc, is representative of humanity’s collective vice. He is a product of the same baser thoughts, wants, and needs that man has harbored and continues to carry around to this moment. His aspirations, just like his guilt, are ours as well. His fear of death is found in each and every one of us, -of course to varying degrees, but it is there. Even his reaction to seek immortality is strong within our societies, as expressed in the massive use of anti ageing products and supplements that are geared towards longevity. In fact, it is common to read about scientific research that is calculated to break ‘the code of ageing.’
Now, the way things are right now, man can expect to live for a hundred years which is nothing compared to the universal big picture. Yet man is so willing to destroy nature and his environment in a bid to get the good life for this relatively short duration of his earthly existence. How much more destruction will man cause if he could live for 1000 years? And I am not saying that a long life is a bad thing, I am just saying that a longer life would be a disaster for this planet if man does not learn to be more responsible.
There are many lessons to be learned from this book but I think one of the most important ones is that Love is the answer to nearly every problem we have. A lack of love is the foundation of spiritual corruption, and spiritual corruption is the parent of political, economic, and socio cultural malaise and it will shred any society to pieces. It was the case with the ancient Egyptians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, etc, and the same will hold true for the contemporary world if things do not improve.
Thanks so much for joining us Ako!
About Ako Eyoung:
Ako Eyong is a Cameroonian national, whose critique of government policy (as a journalist) has led to an existence in America as a political exile. Presently, while working on the sequel to The vision of the blind king, he is taking the first steps into the world of public speaking. He has spoken at several locations in the country, including Oxnard College in California, Coconino community college in Arizona, Ventura college, Ventura Chapter of Amnesty international, Rotary club of Malibu at Pepperdine university, just to name a few. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history and a diploma in political science.
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