Monnew - Softcover

Kourouma, Ahmadou

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1562790587 ISBN 13: 9781562790585

Publisher: Mercury House, 1994

Synopsis

In a fictional African country, Djigui Keita, the king of Soba, finds that ancestral magic, faith in Allah, and baked-mud fortifications are insufficient defenses against French troops and the humiliation of colonialism

About this title

Language Notes:

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

From Publishers Weekly:

This powerful, lushly textured novel by Ivory Coast writer Kourouma ( The Suns of Independence ) graphically shows how France systematically plundered underdeveloped Africa through decades of colonial rule and postcolonial meddling. Tyrannical chief Djigui Keita, king of the fictional land of Soba, presides over a closed, hierarchical society devoted to elaborate rituals, clan solidarity, witchcraft and bloody sacrifices. This traditional culture is damaged when French invaders compel the natives to endure monnew (insults and humiliations): public whippings, rapes, torture, executions, internment in forced-labor camps and bondage on plantations. Proud king Djigui initially resists by supplicating Allah and African spirits (his religion mixes Islam with Malinke fetishism) and by "donating" women to the French troops. But these efforts prove futile, and able-bodied Soban men are forced to fight for the French in both world wars. The deposed king is replaced by his son Bema, but independence and one-party rule only exacerbate the nation's corruption, tribalism and brutality. Kouroume's vigorous prose, in this beautiful translation from the French, is an exotic mix tinged with the inflections of his native Malinke language.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Mercury House
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 1562790587
• ISBN 13: 9781562790585
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272