ABSTRACT
Problems of representation loom large in Ryszard Kapuscinski’s most recent book The Shadow of the Sun (2001). Some reviewers have criticized Kapuscinski not only for factual inaccuracies but also for reproducing the stereotypical misrepresentations of Africa by previous European travel writers.1 Other critics have been willing to overlook Kapuscinski’s fondness for blending fact with fi ction because his distortion of facts leads to a “truer” representation of reality.2 The question one confronts when reading The Shadow of the Sun thus must be: does Kapuscinski’s loose treatment of facts portray Africa as it truly is or does it perpetuate the Eurocentric version of “the Africa that never was?” (Hammond and Jablow 1977). Through an analysis of reviews and a close reading of the text, I argue that, although the intention and effect of representing a “truer” picture of reality is respectively laudable and valuable, Kapuscinski’s misrepresentation of facts may ultimately be more harmful than helpful to Africa.
