Birds Are Singing

Set in the mid-1960s, Birds Are Singing is the story of an ambitious native Liberian caught in the webs of conservative tribal and “civilized” societies that deny him the freedom to live according to his own plans. Korli, as he is known, wants more than just to earn a living, raise a family, and die of old age. He refuses to join any secret society besides the Poro, and he rejects an arranged marriage. Korli’s father, Nuulaa, resents his disdain for the conventions, and doesn’t hesitate to try to sacrifice him to win a chieftaincy election. Korli shoots his disguised attacker and flees to the so-called civilized society when he discovers that he has killed his own father. Can a country man make it in Liberia? This is the question Korli wrestles with during his long and eventful journey from village life in Fuama Chiefdom to the capital city, Monrovia. Wilton Sankawulo’s last novel, published posthumously, is a magnificent story that brilliantly portrays a nation torn apart by tribalism and tyranny, while offering possible remedies for greater equality and justice.