Summary

Before the novel begins, the author writes a note telling the reader that this is a work of historical fiction. Part One begins with the Sankofa image which consists of a bird facing backward to eat a fine egg. Sankofa translates to “to retrieve” and symbolizes how people should look to the past to learn from it in order to make the future better (413). The narrative introduction then discusses the Asante people of the past who had plenty of wealth from the River Offin. Then the foreigners came saying they wanted to study the Asante ways, but really what they wanted to do was to exploit and conquer. Nana Mosi, the narrator of this small section, then tells Kofi, his grandson, of his birth when he floated on the Offin River, and the river nurtured him. Now...