''The Narrow Path'' is a 1966 autobiographical novel by Ghanaian novelist Francis Selormey. The novel was part of Heineman's

African Writers Series The African Writers Series (AWS) is a collection of books written by African novelists, poets and politicians. Published by Heinemann (publisher), Heinemann, 359 books appeared in the series between 1962 and 2003. The series has provided an int ...

. The

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

heavily focuses on recounting the unhappy and painful experiences of a child, Kofi, attending a Catholic mission school in Ghana, and the contrasting traditional education he receives. The

, that has many of the developmental features of a

bildungsroman In literary criticism, a ''Bildungsroman'' (, plural ''Bildungsromane'', ) is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood ( coming of age), in which character change is impo ...

, but utilizes an adult narrator to observe the development of the child focal character, Kofi. The novel is also unique because of its focus on the child's' primary education, only retelling the elementary years. Critic Chris Kwame Awuyah compared the

novels A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

themes and structure to Joseph Abruquah's '' The Torrent'' (1968) and

Amu Djoleto Solomon Alexander Amu Djoleto (born 22 July 1929) is a Ghanaian writer and educator. Life Amu Djoleto was born at Manyakpogunor, Manya Krobo, Ghana, the son of Frederick Badu, a Presbyterian minister, and Victoria Shome Tetteh, "a modest trader" ...

's '' The Strange Man'' (1967) and notes similarities to other

like James T. Farrell's ''Father and Son'' and Ngugi Wa Thiag'o's ''

Weep not, Child ''Weep Not, Child'' is a 1964 novel by Kenyan author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o. It was his first novel, published in 1964 under the name James Ngugi. It was among the African Writers Series. It was the first English language, English novel to be publis ...

''. Awuyah said that the "major artistic strengths of [the

] are its direct and concrete language presented with an unreflective and confessional narrative voice".

References

Further reading