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Skimmed beginning for “black writers in paris” class
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"Paris is a big boy."Another great tale by Alain Mabanckou, this was his first novel. I've always wondered if the lives of African immigrants in Europe matched their hopes and expectations. The difficulty of arriving in a new country and starting from the bottom while maintaining their dignity and conscience.This book is a version of that story. The parallel reality of immigrants in Paris. Their collective compassion and predation on new arrivals. It focuses on identity, and how the immigrant's
An interesting insight into a world I know nothing about, being young, white and Scottish. Frustrating to get into if you don't like books which open with the ending and then go back to explain the story.
Taking place in post-colonial Africa, everybody reveres the ones who left. These immigrants must play the part of the success story...dressing up and boasting of the amazing life they lead in Paris. Dandyism is necessary for both sides. The villagers want to believe that there is a better world out there and the immigrant does not want to admit defeat. But life in Paris is not easy and the rewards are few.
Short in story. He could have streched iT a bit more. I still haven Reading questions. 1. What happend when he returned to Congo? 2. What happend when he returned to paris?Nevertheless. I've read the whole book with only a 10 minute break.
For a good while I truly enjoyed this Congolese novel. But the over-obvious, belabored satire became tiresome to me, and I dropped the book after the midway point.
Brilliant early work of Alain Mabanckou only now translated into English. Written 1993/1995, it is a story of living the dream to become a Parisian and return to the home country - in this case Congo Brazzaville as a "dandy". "I'll manage to get myself out of this". Thrown into some dark hole or cell of some kind, not knowing by whom, where and why, the first person narrator can no longer "distinguish between dream and reality..." Nightmarish wild thoughts tumble over each other in the captive'...
Nice ride in a completely different culture and voice.
Great novel on the disillusionment of the Parisian dream and the psychological effects of colonization in a culture. The book throws you into confusion then slowly reveals the plot line which isn’t my favorite format but the writing is great nonetheless.
"La rédemption est une longue marche."
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I'm not really going to review the novel, but I do want to sum up it's subject with a quote. "The religion of the dream is anchored in the conscience of the country's youth. To shatter those beliefs is to expose oneself to the fate reserved for heretics.". (I forgot to write down the page number, my bad.) For a different view of the draw of Europe to poor African youth, I recommend Abdelleh Taïa's _Salvation Army_. I did like this book, though, for the insights it gave me into the longing of you...
Alain Mabanckou's debut novel is narrated by Massala-Massala, a young Congolese man who is a neighbor of Moki, a slightly older man who is revered by the villagers where his parents and brothers live in luxury. Moki is a Parisian, one of the few Congolese who has emigrated to Paris and found success there. He is welcomed like royalty when he makes his annual return to his home during the dry season, as he represents the hopes and dreams of his people. He dresses in the latest Parisian fashions,
This was by far the easiest to understand of the books read in my Postcolonial Francophone Lit course, and it gets even easier to understand as you go on. Highly recommend for anyone interested in postcolonial lit or francophone lit in general.
