The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born

The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born has a consistent focus on the unsavory, scatological details of everyday life in Ghana. The book begins with an encounter between the man and a bus driver, who kicks him off the bus when he discovers the man has drooled all over the bus seat—the same driver spits a gob of mucus and hits the man walking in the street.

During the man’s journey from home to his work and back, he is constantly forced to interact with mold, rotting wood, dirty and greasy walls, repulsively dirty bathrooms, and human bodily waste. Even when he is at home, he notices the thick growth on the floor of his bathroom.

The scatological details are emphasized also in the body of Koomson after the overthrow of Nkrumah’s government. The man and Oyo are physically repulsed by the rotten, sickly odor coming from his body, which the man says is due to his fear of being arrested. This represents Koomson’s inner “rot,” or his corruption and greed, rising to the surface to be seen. Throughout the book, the characters are forced to deal with the unsavory, dirty aspects of ordinary life.