Andrea's comments
(member since Sep 29, 2008)
Andrea's comments from the Great African Reads group.
(showing 1-20 of 98)
Oh, excellent. I'm entering the dark tunnel of end of term grading from now through the beginning of December, so all my grading will be slow for a couple of weeks.
I can't read the Chad selection, as I can't find it in English, so I've decided to "assign" myself "Dark Age: The Political Odyssey of Emperor Bokassa" by Brian Titley for November/ December. If anyone else is reading it and would like to join in for a discussion, I'm on about page 70.
I haven't been able to find a copy in English either, and unfortunately "my" French is non-existent. So I may have to pass this month, but will keep tracking what you guys are up to!
On the other hand, I am glad we read this book, since it is one of the earliest pieces of African literature I've read. I wish I owned a copy so I could go back to it easily at some point to see if I can gain some new insights.
Welcome, Phyliss!
I'm also confused because the opening seems to suggest that this book will be largely about the problems caused by French colonialism and how Africans feel about that. But the only time it really seems to come up is in the long speech Batouala gives. It's not part of the plot of the book. Maybe because it was so early and I'm comparing it to more complete discussions that were written later, such as "Houseboy."
Yes, Marieke, I'm glad you put in the long quote. If beating women was accepted in that culture, Maran would naturally report it, but he could also have a point of view about it. His narrator doesn't ever seem to make clear whose point of view we should take as the "normal" one.
Really good questions, esp. since some of our earlier comments refer to not feeling particularly "close" to these characters. I feel actually more sympathy for the wife than for the husband. Batouala seems rather uninterested in his wives as individual people. Was this an accurate portrayal of an actual "typical" attitude, or was it what Maran believed based on sterotypes?
Yes, the book seems very visual. I saw a contemporary Nigerian-made movie at a friend's house a few months ago and it reminded me of this story; the storyline (of the movie) itself was very broad and almost like a folkstory, but the scenery was very vivid and a lot was told through movement. When the rival comes upon Batouala and his mother in the bush, I keep expecting some sort of climactic action, but instead Batouala tells several stories and then the whole thing is a sort of anti-climax because more people arrive. I'm surprised, given how B. seems to have set the lover up, that he doesn't find a way to do him in even with the other people there.
**SPOILERS**I've finished the book and don't really know what to think. The wife and lover seem so completely thoughtless. Would they really do that in the hut while he's dying? Maran doesn't seem to want us to judge any of the characters, but then I'm wondering if that isn't what fiction is really all about, judging the morality or "goodness" of characters, or at least whether we can sympathize with them. I can't really sympathize with these characters. I understand their instinctive reactions to danger, sexual attraction, hunger, but I don't feel like I get into their minds and feelings very much. If that's the author's purpose, I'm puzzling over why he would choose to write about his characters that way. I can see why Hemingway likes this writer, no messy emotional stuff. Or is there?
Mine is actually a 1987 translation, I guess, but it says it is based on the 1938 version of the book.
Okay, just started into the book and am really surprised that this could have been published in 1922, but I see the edition I'm reading was a re-issue from 1938 that is described by the publisher as more "frank" than the earlier edition.
Just got the book last night and read the intro. Will start this week
Wow, this is a great site. Thank you!
Aug 20, 2009 09:37AM
I've read it. I actually found it kind of slow at first. But then as I got into the questions of who was really revealing the true personality and motivations of Senhor, the Will or his nephew's narratives, it got more intriguing.
Does anybody remember a Nadine Gordimer short story that was about an English couple that retired to Italy? It was in one of her fairly recent collections, but I want to share it with a friend and can't seem to relocate it. Thanks!
Amazing accomplishment!
I noticed the third person thing, and it seemed like a mannerism. I know in some cultures, it's common not to refer to people directly when discussing certain types of subjects. My husband's family, for example, will ask me when talking about the children, "What does the child's mother think?" But I can't tell if that's what's happening in this book, or if it's maybe an artifact of the translation? This book reminded me a bit of Treasure Island.
Yes, we never really completely discussed a lot of them, and I would love to go back to them.
I just got it too, from interlibrary loan, so should be starting by next week.
