Dust, Spittle and Wind

By Sanya Osha

Dust, Spittle and Wind is a story of youth, dreams of innocence and transcendence told within a postcolonial setting. It follows Olu Ray, the main character of the novel through a bitter-sweet journey of loss and self-realisation. The novel focuses on the final moment before actual emotional maturity when dreams either become flowers of brilliance or cold ashes. The novel describes the cold hand of fate as it swings between both extremes. Olu Ray eventually survives at the price of the abrupt loss of his innocence. The book teems with colourful characters and the blistering heat of the physical terrain appears to mirrors the lush sexuality on display. It explores the nature of taboo, the frustrations caused by it and the compulsions it provokes. In Sanya Osha's telling, society seems to be on the verge of irreparable breakdown but somehow manages to pull itself back from the abyss. The tension that runs through the novel is relentless but then, there is also much tenderness and subtlety that balances everything out. This is unquestionably a feat of powerful artistry. It deservedly won the Association of Nigerian Authors' Prize for prose in 1992.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Langaa RPCIG
• Release date: Apr 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9789956579693

Sanya Osha

Sanya Osha is the author of the critically acclaimed novel, Naked Light and the Blind Eye. His fictional work, Dust, Spittle and Wind won the Association of Nigerian Authors’ prize for prose in 1992. In 2000, he was a recipient of a Prince Claus Award. He lives in South Africa and is currently a South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) fellow at the Institute for Economic Research on Innovation (IERI), Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria; and research fellow at the Africa Institute of South Africa (AISA), Pretoria.

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