ALUKO, T. M. — One Man, One Matchet.

Heinemann 1964 First Edition. Dustjacket by Brian Russell. [IV], 197 p. HARDCOVER: (Orig. gilt cloth. Small spot enddpaper. Light browning page ends VERY GOOOD with Orange & brown pictorial d.w., unclipped AS NEW) Aluko's second novel, set in Yorubaland. is an exploration of conflict within a cocoa-growing community which is undergoing a perilous crop blight. The primary tensions occur between the colonial officials, who have a means of treating the blight but are too contemptuous of the populace to communicate the information effectively, the community elders, and the Western-educated young protagonist, who suffers local opprobrium for supporting the English Agricultural Officer's policy of cutting down every blighted tree. Meanwhile, a likeable but unscrupulous politician stirs up trouble with an opportunistic fervour worthy of today's 'disruptors'. Aluko keeps complete control both of the complex plot and of the characters' conflicting priorities, and while violence explodes, the novel's conclusion is ultimately a hopeful and believable one.