The Burt Award
has brought good tidings for Kenyan writers. This is especially so because it
is the most prestigious in comparison to the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature
or the Wahome Mutahi Literary Prize. As a result, the prizes have generally
inspired a plethora of writing in the country. Argwings Otieno’s A Taste of Fame is one of the texts
which has not only been recently published, 2013, but it is also the second to
win the Burt Award.
A
Taste of Fame is a young
readers’ novel. The protagonist is Rando Shama, a teenager, who symbolises the
ambitions of the youth. The author uses simple language that is accessible to
young readers and the text’s structure is linearly arranged. Hence, the story
begins on a Sunday afternoon and comes to an end a week later on a Sunday
afternoon. This makes it possible for young readers to access the story and to
identify with it.
Through Rando, we are able to visualise how the youth
are impressionistic and highly susceptible to peer pressure. Rando has
recognised a role model in a local pop star, Dickson Zago, whose stage name is
Dee Zaster. Of course Dee Zasta puns on the received pronunciation of the word
disaster thereby symbolising a tragic turn of events. Although the story’s
ending has a tinge of tragedy exemplified in the untimely death of Dee Zasta’s
mother, the feared for debacle in Rando’s life is judiciously taken care of by
the protagonist’s psychological coming-of-age.
Structured through a partially bildungsroman approach,
that is a coming-of-age novel, the story traces Rando’s naive aspirations to be
like his icon Dee Zasta. This indicates the average behaviour of teenagers who
at times rebel against their parents with the assumption that their parents do
not understand them. The story demonstrates the innocence of a child without
fully horned out faculty for intuition. Thus, Rando blindly imitates Dee Zasta
and even attempts to speak, sing and dance like his icon. He is so carried away
with this obsession that he fantasises to the extent that his teachers catch
him daydreaming in class.
Rando’s identification with Dee Zasta sets him on a
collision path with his father. The father is mature and knowledgeable enough
to understand that blind imitation of others without knowledge of the self is
futile. The father’s perceptions are vindicated when we are informed that local
stars’ motto is “fake it till you make it”. It is an empty life, one devoid of
human fulfilled; hence, characterised by unhappiness and a desire to please
others at the expense of person actualisation. Rando’s father knows that the
antidote for such a malaise is education and thus he is opposed to his son’s
hell-bent wish to become a music star.
Although the protagonist is impetuously determined to
become a music star, we recognise the need to let young people to pursue their
dreams, albeit under the tutelage of their parents/guardians. This is
especially so when we, together with Rando, discover that stars’ lives are not
necessarily filled with achievement and happiness. Dee Zasta is cast as an
unhappy musician who would rather borrow money or withdraw a down payment for
his mother’s treatment so that he can attend a music concert in a helicopter. He
is so engrossed in notions of physical appearance that he becomes reckless,
gullible and irresponsible. This makes it possible for Don, his designer, to
con him all his money. Such a mistake costs Dee Zasta catastrophically because
his mother’s treatment is delayed and she ends up dying coincidentally the
moment he successfully accomplishes his performance during the concert.
The text is strongly moralising. It is imbued with
moral lessons that young readers can easily identify with. For example, not all
those who appear to be our friends are good friends. Jemo helps Rando to forge
a note to the hospital accountant when Rando forgets the original at home. He
is very supportive and offers a dependable shoulder for Rando during difficult
moments but at one time he attempts to pierce Rando’s ear and this ends badly
when Rando has to visit the hospital in the middle of the night to be treated.
Moreover, the youth should not hearken to voices of
discouragement when they feel that they have talents. They should have self
confidence and cultivate a sense of belief in themselves. This will ward off
the likes of Makanjo who might derail their pursuits. Take note that Makanjo is
the Sheng equivalent of the plural
derogative term used especially by hawkers in Nairobi city to denote the City
Council Askaris. Thus Makanjo is reminiscent of voices of doubt and other
negative notions that should not be given space during moments of rumination
about our careers or future aspirations.
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| Photo courtesy of www.jamesmurua.com (Otieno - author) |
The story unfolds humorously. There are constant
moments where incongruous items are presented to the audience. For example the
schizophrenic man in the hospital who attempts to pass for the hospitals’
manager. Also, the story provides the case of the mad man who steals the show
during the school’s prize giving ceremony. Such instances present the reader
with opportune moments of comic relieve and help to add onto the aesthetic
qualities of an otherwise well told narrative.
However, the story is subtly laced with undercurrents
of queer behaviour. For the eye that is wont to roam and over read, Rando’s
father would easily pass for a homophobic character who is jealous of his son’s
relationship with Dee Zasta. Rando appears to be emotionally attracted to Jemo
but it is in his effort to be like Dee Zasta that queer tendencies are
underscored. However, I choose to read this as the genuine love and emotional
connection of a young mind as opposed to an over interpretation of the story
which would indicate otherwise.
Last but not least, A Taste of Fame castigates vanity in human beings. We are tempted
to fake things hoping that we will make it. In a contemporary world where
shortcuts appear to be the apt avenues to success and glory, the story warns us
that our lives are likely to be hollow and bound to tumble down once the money
vanishes. Hence, we should build our lives around strong moral values even if
we will not end up being popular amongst our peers. This is Rando’s discovery
at the end of the story when he realises that he has to chart his own destiny
“to be original and unique”.
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