The stories in No Sweetness Here, of post-independence Ghana in the 1960s, are written beautifully and wisely and with great subtlety. The characters lie uneasily between old and new, live in rural and urban areas and struggle to deal with the unpleasant surprises of independence.
There is a keen but understated longing for the past in these stories. Aidoo is too good a writer to paint with overly broad brush strokes. She does not at all suggest that the past was perfect; there is no romanticising of culture. "No Sweetness Here", the title story, is the kind of beautiful, old-fashioned social realism I have always been drawn to in fiction. It does what I think all good literature should: it has something to say and it entertains you. But girding that entertainment value is substance, solid and interesting and true. Aidoo has a fantastic sly wit and humour and she does not hit you over the head with her "message", but after you have greedily finished each story in her collection, you sit back and realise that you have been through an intellectual experience as well.
Diplomatic Pounds & Other Stories by Ama Ata Aidoo is published by Ayebia Clarke (£10.99)
