14 | Aminatta Forna | Haywards Heath
Aminatta Forna, OBE (born 1964), is a Scottish and Sierra Leonean writer.
Forna is Professor of Creative Writing at Bath Spa University and was, until
recently, Sterling Brown Distinguished Visiting Professor at Williams College
in Massachusetts. She is currently Lannan Visiting Chair of Poetics at
Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Aminatta Forna was born in
Bellshill, Scotland, in 1964 to a Sierra Leonean father, Mohamed Forna, and
a Scottish mother, Maureen Christison. When Forna was six months old the
family travelled to Sierra Leone, where Mohamed Forna worked as a
physician. He later became involved in politics and entered government, only
to resign citing a growth in political violence and corruption. Between 1970
and 1973 he was imprisoned and declared an Amnesty Prisoner of
Conscience. Mohamed Forna was hanged on charges of treason in 1975.
The events of Forna's childhood and her investigation into the conspiracy
surrounding her father's death are the subject of the memoir The Devil That
Danced on the Water. The trauma of her father's death is a contributing factor to the common theme of psychological
trauma throughout many of her novels.
1. What is the signi cance of the title of this story? “Ay–Wads ‘eat”
2. Who was Malcolm X? Research. Why is Attilla describes with similar features as Malcolm X?
3. What does the Jaguar symbolise about Attila’s lifestyle?
4. Describe Attila and Rosie’s relationship whilst at uni?
5. Why did Attila leave her? Why is this important? Page 432
6. What does Attila’s role in trauma tell us about his life and the choices he makes?
7. What is the Blue Danube? What is the signi cance of including it in this story?
8. How is irony utilised in this story? What is the e ect?
9. What does the narrator’s description of the weather tell us about Attilla’s state of mind?
10. Describe the ending? How do you think this made Attilla feel?
11. Rosie says on page 433: “People say you can’t have two robins in the same garden, but there’s no truth in it. Look!”
What technique is being used here and what is the e ect?
12. What is the role of the SATNAV in this story?
Paragraph Questions:
a) What literary techniques does the author use to present the e ects of time?
b) How does the story present ideas of memory and ageing?
