Houseboy

Toundi Ondoua, the rural African protagonist of Houseboy, encounters a world of prisms that cast beautiful but unobtainable glimmers, especially for a black youth in colonial Cameroon. Houseboy, written in the form of Toundi's captivating diary and translated from the original French, discloses his awe of the white world and a web of unpredictable experiences. Early on, he escapes his father's angry blows by seeking asylum with his benefactor, the local European priest who meets an untimely death. Toundi then becomes "the Chief European's 'boy'--the dog of the King." Toundi's attempt to fulfill a dream of advancement and improvement opens his eyes to troubling realities. Gradually, preconceptions of the Europeans come crashing down on him as he struggles with his identity, his place in society, and the changing culture.

Other titles by African writers from Waveland Press:

Ba, So Long a Letter (ISBN 9781577668060)

Beti, The Poor Christ of Bomba (ISBN 9781577664185)

Emecheta, Kehinde (ISBN 9781577664192)

Equiano, Equiano's Travels (ISBN 9781577664871)

Head, The Collector of Treasures and Other Botswana Village Tales (ISBN 9781478607601)

Head, Maru (ISBN 9781478607618)

Head, When Rain Clouds Gather (ISBN 9781478607595)

La Guma, In the Fog of the Seasons' End (ISBN 9781478600251)

Marechera, The House of Hunger (ISBN 9781478604730)

Mofolo, Chaka (ISBN 9781478607151)

Ngugi-Mugo, The Trial of Dedan Kimathi (ISBN 9781478611318)

Nwapa, Efuru (ISBN 9781478611011)

Oyono, The Old Man and the Medal (ISBN 9781478609582)

p'Bitek, Song of Lawino & Song of Ocol (ISBN 9781478604723)

Plaatje, Mhudi (ISBN 9781478609575)

Rifaat, Distant Views of a Minaret and Other Short Stories (ISBN 9781478611288)

Ferdinand Oyono was born in 1929 in Cameroon, and educated there and in France. During his student days in Paris he was prompted to write his first two novels, Une Vie de Boy and Le Vieux Nègre et la Médaille, both published in 1956, and he was also active and successful on the stage and on television. On his return to Yaoundé and after the independence of Cameroon in 1960, he joined the Diplomatic Service. He has since represented his country at the European Common Market and has been ambassador to Liberia, France, and the United States as well as Director General of UNICEF at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Since the publication of his first two novels, Ferdinand Oyono published Chemin d'Europe in 1960, and all his work has been widely translated from French.