Comment cuisiner son mari à l'africaine

by Calixthe Beyala

Mademoiselle Aïssatou est amoureuse d'un Malien pure souche, célibataire et manutentionnaire. Souleymane Bolobolo vit avec sa mère qui a une poule pour animal de compagnie. Et pour séduire cet homme, il ne suffit pas d'être une " femme flamme " et de lui refiler un tendre baiser, il faut aussi les senteurs tropicales qui captivent. Mangue sauvage, marinade d'épices et pépé-soupe de poissons... Voilà de quoi déclencher torrents d'extase et excès sensuels.

Genres: Fiction, France, Africa, Cameroon

157 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2000

About the author

Calixthe Beyala (born 1961) is a Cameroonian-born French writer who writes in French.

She grew up in Douala with her sister. In 1978, she left Cameroon for France. She married, and has two children.

(from Wikipedia)

Calixthe Beyala est née à Douala au Cameroun. Sixième d'une famille de douze enfants, elle a été marquée par l'extrême pauvreté de son milieu. Calixthe Beyala a passé son enfance séparée de son père et de sa mère qui sont originaires de la région de Yaoundé. D'un tempérament solitaire, dit-elle, elle a grandi seule avec une soeur de quatre ans son aînée qui l'a prise en charge et l'a envoyée à l'école. Calixthe Beyala a été à l'école principale du camp Nboppi à Douala. Ensuite, elle a fréquenté successivement le lycée des rapides à Bangui et le lycée polyvalent de Douala; elle aimait tout particulièrement l'étude des maths. Calixthe Beyala a quitté Douala à 17 ans pour la France. Elle s'y marie, passe son bac pour ensuite effectuer des études de gestion et de lettres.
Avant de s'installer à Paris où elle réside actuellement avec ses deux enfants, Calixthe Beyala a vécu à Malaga et en Corse avec son mari. Elle a également beaucoup voyagé en Afrique, en Europe et un peu partout dans le reste du monde. En plus du Français, elle parle l'Eton qui est sa langue maternelle, ainsi que le Pidgin, l' Espagnol et quelques langues Africaines.
Calixthe Beyala a écrit son premier livre à vingt trois ans:

Reviews

[Kavita · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't be fooled by the intriguing title. It's nothing to do with any interesting recipes that you can make with your husband as the main ingredient. It's nothing even metaphorical that might have just lifted this book into the realm of interesting. Nope, it's just a mistranslation and the author means how to cook (for) your husband the African way. Hmmm, no thanks!

The story revolves around Aïssatou, who must be the most annoying woman in Paris (which is full of annoying women!). Born in Cameroon and living in Paris, the only goal of Aïssatou's pathetic life is to snare a husband. Marriage is to be the be all and end all of her life. For this purpose, she chooses her neighbour, Souleymane Bolobolo, also from Cameroon. She hounds him with food until he begins to respond to her overtures.

I was pretty annoyed with this moronic woman and found the story itself pretty sexist. It's actually not just sexist, it's pretty damaging since the author is a woman. Aïssatou appears to have immense confidence but instead of using it for something positive, she wastes her time trying to get married by hook or by crook. Rather nauseating, really!

The chapters are followed by recipes that you can use to cook for your husband. If you still want to try out these recipes, do make sure you have access to porcupine, boa constrictor, crocodile, etc.

A feeble effort!

[Calzean · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quirky little story of a young lady who wants to be attractive to men. She tries to look like a white, skinny woman than meets the new tenant in her building. She then tries to tempt him through her cooking skills. There is a lot of local recipes but unless you have access to a boa, porcupine or crocodile then these have little use.

[Rosamund · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm intrigued by how often readers apparently assume an author shares their character's views. I thought this was a clever commentary on traditional expectations about marriage. Loved the recipes too.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cet ouvrage est riche d'une ironie qui semble avoir échappé à un grand nombre de lecteurs, à en juger par les critiques que j'ai lues sur ce site. Plutôt que de glorifier un retour aux sources du genre qu'Aïssatou entreprend, le roman explore les croisements complexes des identités immigrées modernes, et de l'intersection du genre et de la race. Aïssatou a un parcours assez expérimental, et les expériences ne finissent pas toujours comme prévu...

Pour un traitement plus détaillé de ce sujet, je vous recommande de lire un article littéraire sur le sujet des identités hybrides/transnationales dans l'ouvrage, par exemple "Hybridation identitaire et littéraire : Comment cuisiner son mari à l’africaine (Calixthe Beyala) dans un petit appartement parisien ?" de Marion Coste.
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-....

Sinon, j'apprécie comment Beyala joue avec la question "est-ce qu'on mange pour vivre, ou est-ce qu'on vit pour manger?" Cette question devient bien plus intéressante dans l'univers hybride du roman, où Aïssatou essaie de se frayer un chemin entre diverses cultures, tantôt réelles, tantôt mythifiées.

[Barbara · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have an aversion to books that mix fiction with recipes - and in this case, far too much of the book is recipes and many of them would be pointless unless you happen to have a nearby butcher who stocks crocodile and the like.

I didn't care if she got her man or not.

I'm surprised that such a short book can be so boring. Unless you are really interested in food, give this one a miss. And it's probably worth pointing out that she doesn't 'cook' her husband - she cooks her way to get a husband. Totally different premise entirely.

[Massimiliano Mineo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eros e cibo: due piaceri che spesso, da che mondo è mondo, si sono tra loro torbidamente intrecciati per dar luogo ad una miscela dalla forza esplosiva. è proprio quanto dimostra abilmente la giovane Aissatù, protagonista dell' ultimo libro di Calixthe Beyala Come cucinarsi il marito all' africana. Innamoratasi di Suleymane Bolobolo, ella decide di farsi amare sciorinandogli tutta una serie di manicaretti, per la maggior parte dei quali è riportata la ricetta alla fine dei singoli capitoli. Dubitiamo che tali ricette siano di facile esecuzione, a meno che non si abbia facile accesso ad antilopi, boa, porcospini o tartarughe; ma ciò, a parte la curiosità, è davvero poco importante. Resta l' eccitazione senza freno che travolge tanto Aissatù quanto Bolobolo dopo aver gustato avidamente un piatto di gombo alla paprika, un po' di coccodrillo alla salsa bongo tchobi, o del succo di zenzero (le cui virtù afrodisiache pare rendano il Viagra una caramella). Un libro gustoso, assai ironico e raffinato, la cui morale è: se non sapete cucinare, forse è meglio che vi diate una mossa.

[Mélissa Cybèle · Rating 4 out of 5]

J’ai beaucoup aimé l’originalité qui vient du fait que le récit et la trame narrative sont dirigés par différents plats typiquement africains et que les recettes soient également incluses au fil des pages. Je risque d’en essayer une ou deux!

Le texte était très imagé et j’avais donc l’impression de véritablement être transportée dans une cuisine où les parfums alléchants enivrent et les sauveurs encore davantage.

J’ai compris et apprécié ce que Calixthe Beyala a voulu faire et les thèmes mis de l’avant… le choc culturel, l’importance de la nourriture dans les sociétés traditionnelles, la place de la femme dans ces mêmes sociétés, le mariage, l’amour, la jalousie et la fidélité…

Il n’en demeure pas moins que, malgré cela et même si l’histoire était intéressante, j’ai trouvé le livre trop truffé de clichés à mon goût.

À quand une histoire avec un mari africain fidèle? À quand une répartition des tâches un peu plus équitable? À quand des personnages féminins moins soumis au service d’hommes paresseux qui ne méritent pas toutes ces attentions?

Ce livre m’a emmenée à beaucoup réfléchir, il se lit vite et bien et je le recommande tout de même.

[Ellen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was quite disappointing for me. I read the French translation and from reviews, and the summary, felt that this would be an encouraging, feminist story about a woman searching for love and her place in Parisian society. And it did begin like that. There were very interesting concepts that touched on themes like racism, exoticism, and femininity.

However, as the story progressed, particularly in the end (don't even get me started on the epilogue), it became a typical "woman in the kitchen" tale. Her idealized love turns out to be less than anticipated. Which is horribly sad. Yet in the end, food, that constant in the narrator's life, is what she turns to. Her husband cheats on her, and she offers to cook for him. Not the kind of story I appreciate, nor do I think it is a very positive read.

The language is not particularly difficult, however the style contains much below the surface of the text which can be quite frustrating to get through.

Rating: 1 star, this story attempts to defy stereotypes but falls right into them, the summary will lead to disappointment.

[Robert Stevens · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I am not a fan of the general plot and find certain elements to be very convenient, there are several things in which one can analyze and think about such as the interactions between the main character, from Cameroon, and French people such as the scene at the laundromat. I also particularly like the use of the voice of the main character’s mother to show connection to the motherland alongside the love interest’s mother and her presence. The recipes included are a way to root her culture in her present environment, Paris. The food is a bridge from her past, present, and future self.

[A M Steinbeck · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chicken with lime. Ingredient laurel leaves mentioned in error. Laurel leaves are poisoned. In directions bay leaves are listed instead which is correct. . Story not of music h interest but some of the recipes look interesting

Chicken with lime interesting receipts but use bay leaves as stated indirection definitely not laurel leaves as listed in ingredients. I believe laurel leaves are poisoness

[Chema Caballero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro fácil de leer, ligero y divertido. Sin grandes pretensiones. Una pizca de crítica social. Describe parte de la realidad de algunos africanos crecidos y que viven en París. Al final de cada capítulo tiene una receta de cocina africana, imagino que la mayoría de ellas camerunesas, adaptadas. No está mal para pasar el rato.

[Princess · Rating 4 out of 5]

As good as, or perhaps better than, the story (which, like most translated stories, has such delughtful turns of phrase) are the recipes herein. I'm probably going to try my hand at most of them. They sound delicious.

[Donatella Zuccaro · Rating 2 out of 5]

Leggendo l'introduzione di questo libro, pare che l'autrice abbia scritto il personaggio di questa donna in chiave ironica... Mi dispiace, ma l'ironia non l'ho colta e per me è risultata una di quelle donne che farebbero di tutto per accalappiare un uomo. L'innamoramento poi, senza capo né coda... Lo vede e bam, lo ama già. L'ironia è parlare di una donna che, alla fine di tutto, si fa mettere i piedi in testa? Mi sa che, su questo, io e l'autrice non siamo sulla stessa linea d'onda (umoristica). Il tutto con ricette africane che sembrerebbero anche molto saporite (ma cercare gli ingredienti qui sarebbe una impresa). Peccato, perché la scrittura non mi è dispiaciuta. Mi riprometto di leggere altri libri di questa autrice

[India · Rating 3 out of 5]

sort of weird and the ending is almost extremely depressing, up until the very las two paragraphs of the epilogue

[France · Rating 5 out of 5]

Très bon livre

[Neuza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading World #38- Cameroon

[Kit Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to read for class, was enjoyable for a forced read but not something I would have chosen on my own

[Bogdan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting idea with the cooking and recipes.

[Georgiana 1792 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aissatù, giovane camerunense che vive in Francia e cerca di rispettare i canoni di bellezza del paese che la ospita (piacere agli uomini bianchi è cosa buona e giusta. Tavola da surf uguale bella donna.) piuttosto che quelli africani pieni di rotondità, si innamora del nuovo vicino di casa, Suleymane Bolobolo, un maliano con la madre un po' sciroccata e una gallina come animale domestico, e cerca di conquistarlo in tutti i modi passando attraverso lo stomaco, con ricette di cucina tradizionale africana - non so dove abbia trovato tutti quegli ingredienti improbabili, le carni, specialmente: coccodrillo, boa, tartaruga di bosco, antilope affumicata, ecc. ecc., anche se a Parigi è probabile che ci siano... ma non oso pensare a quanto costino, soprattutto perché Aissatù per vivere pulisce gabinetti pubblici...
Ma sebbene lo stile sia particolarmente frizzante e Aissatù sembri in principio una donna molto indipendente ed emancipata, il fatto che voglia sposare a ogni costo un uomo che - palesemente - desidera un altro genere di donna e che voglia lei solo come cuoca mi è sembrato particolarmente degradante.
Niente di particolare a fine anni '90, inizio anni 2000, in cui questo genere di libro - una storia d'amore e di passione intervallata da ricette tradizionali - era particolarmente comune. Mi vengono in mente Dolce come il cioccolato di Laura Esquivel o Afrodita di Isabel Allende, se non queste ricette africane che nel bel mezzo di Parigi mi sono sembrate particolarmente assurde.

[Iryna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The way to a man's heart is through his stomach, according to Mademoiselle Aïssatou. So she begins to seduce the man on whom she is crushing by making him irresistible African dishes. But whether or not Bolobolo was able to resist Aïssatou's culinary charms...read and find out ;)

[Maria Beltrami · Rating 4 out of 5]

L'amore passa attraverso il corpo, e il corpo scheletrico, denutrito, ossuto di una giovane nera che cerca di aderire agli ideali dei bianchi (tavola da surf uguale bella donna), non può accogliere l'amore. E allora la conquista dell'uomo amato passa attraverso la riscoperta delle ricette della mamma, e l'inevitabile aumento di peso.
I capitoli della seduzione sono intervallati dalle ricette della seduzione, alcune delle quali così interessanti che mi hanno fatto voglia di uscire di casa di corsa e correre al negozio di prodotti africani.
L'uomo amato non si rivelerà all'altezza di tanto amore, ma continuerà comunque ad essere nutrito sontuosamente, perché è così che ci si cucina il marito all'africana.

[Liviaf · Rating 3 out of 5]

La signorina Aissatù si muove tra personaggi bizzarri (non ultima la gallina del vicino di casa) e incarna la nevrosi di una nera-bianca parigina costretta a demonizzare il cibo e a rincorrere un'arida magrezza. Almeno finché non si innamora. Per me assolutamente da provare le ricette stregate di Calixthe Beyala..
Divertente.

[Lourdes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Una novela que empieza muy bien y que va perdiendo gas. Donde la cocina juega un papel de seducción en la vida amorosa de la protagonista que intenta conquistar el corazón de su guapo vecino a través del arte de cocinar. Estéticamente la novela tiene belleza, pero la historia en sí carece de pasión y de fuerza. Vaya que puede llegar a aburrir, sobre todo hacia el final.

[Leah]

A short book featuring flavorful descriptions of exotic cuisine. Despite its short length, it wasn't particularly easy for me to read (due in large part to the fact that I am very unfamiliar with African cuisine and African culture.) I liked the story, but I wasn't a big fan of the ending.

[spacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

So great. So funny. So sad.

I identified with this story a lot. Reading it felt like everything my mother and female relatives will tell me when I am getting married.

The images are rich and the prose is decadent like the food our narrator Aissatou cooks.

A great, fun, quick read.

[Njenva Heimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The recipes are hilarious! I wonder whether they are real...?