Four Fiends From The Palm-Wine Drinkard
Now public domain, this 1952 novel was written by Amos Tutuola, a Nigerian man inspired by the folk tales he'd grown up on - folk tales which, at the time, were rapidly dwindling in popularity and even acceptability as Christian missionaries fought hard to "modernize" the "primitive" people of other nations. The story would go on to become the first piece of African literature ever published in English overseas, but blasted by critics of the 50's as a "barbaric and savage" work, offending their delicate little senses with its sometimes vulgar comedy, graphic morbidity, gratuitous use of sorcery and unconventional writing style, rife with the artifacts of terminology and grammar that simply cannot translate directly to English. Regardless, the Palm-Wine Drinkard is now recognized as one of the most important pieces of literature to come out of the 50's, and time capsule of black African folkloric tradition that once came dangerously close to being largely forgotten.