"A lovely, magical book." –The Washington Post
"A brilliant imagist who uses poetry and drama to convey his inquisitiveness, frustration, and sense of wonder." –Newsweek
Brilliant. . . . Transcendant. . . . It locates the lost child in all of us, underneath language, inside sound and smell, wide-eyed, brave and flummoxed. . . . Soyinka belongs in the company of . . . V. S. Naipaul, V. S. Pritchett, and Vladimir Nabokov." –The New York Times
"A delightful memoir." –The Atlantic
"Unquestionably Africa's most versatile writer and arguably her finest. . . . Ake is a classic of African autobiography, indeed a classic of childhood memoirs wherever and whenever produced." –The New York Times Book Review