My Life in the Bush of Ghosts

Amos Tutuola’s My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (1954) tells the story of an unnamed narrator’s coming-of-age and spiritual development after he and his older brother become lost in the wilderness running from slave traders. Tutuola, who grew up in Nigeria, draws on traditional Yoruba folklore as well as Christian beliefs throughout the narrative. The novel, an example of the bildungsroman genre, integrates fantasy and magical elements as it traces the narrator’s encounters with ghosts and spirits. My Life in the Bush of Ghosts reflects themes of spirituality, the importance of folklore and mythology, and the consequences of colonialism.

This guide refers to the 2014 paperback edition published by Faber & Faber.

Content Warning: This guide and source text discuss domestic violence, abuse, incarceration, and enslavement.

Plot Summary

When the narrator is seven years old, he must run away with his brother from a slave raid that threatens his community. As he eats the breakfast prepared by his mother, the narrator notices that his father’s other wives and daughters flee from the house without bringing him or his brother with them. Hearing gunshots, the narrator and his brother run from the house and attempt to travel to their grandmother’s house.