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Ahmadou Kourouma's award winning novel, The Suns of Independence is one of the great classics of Francophone African literature, capturing the dreams and struggles of a newly independent nation.Fama is the last of an ancient line of Dumbuya princes who, before the Europeans came, reigned undisputed over the Malinke tribe. Yet even after independence, Fama is forced to beg for his place amongst the bureaucratic elite. Meanwhile, his wife, Salimata, is desperately attempting to save the Dumbuya legacy from extinction.
Beyond the gripping political intrigue, Ahmadou Kourouma weaves together an in-depth tapestry of Malinke culture, blending the everyday experience of 1960s postcolonial life with age-old myths and traditions.
'Perhaps the most remarkable African novelist writing in French.'
Guardian
A propos de l'auteur
Ahmadou Kourouma was a prominent writer, playwright, and activist born in 1927 in Boundiali, Côte d'Ivoire.
Educated in Mali, he served in French military campaigns for several years before moving to Paris and Lyon to study Mathematics. Although he returned to Côte d'Ivoire after it won its independence in 1960, he remained an outspoken critic of the country's government, leading to his brief imprisonment.
He published his first novel The Suns of Independence in 1968, winning the Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire in 1969 and the Prix Maillé-Latour-Landry in 1970. Rejected by French publishers for its radical inclusion of the Malinke language, it was first published in Canada and translated into English in 1981. Despite this controversy, his novels continued to find much success in France. His 2000 novel, Allah n'est pas obligé, won the prestigious Prix Renaudot and Prix Goncourt des Lycéens awards. Kourouma died in 2003.
Résumé
Ahmadou Kourouma's award winning novel, The Suns of Independence is one of the great classics of Francophone African literature, capturing the dreams and struggles of a newly independent nation.
Fama is the last of an ancient line of Dumbuya princes who, before the Europeans came, reigned undisputed over the Malinke tribe. Yet even after independence, Fama is forced to beg for his place amongst the bureaucratic elite. Meanwhile, his wife, Salimata, is desperately attempting to save the Dumbuya legacy from extinction.
Beyond the gripping political intrigue, Ahmadou Kourouma weaves together an in-depth tapestry of Malinke culture, blending the everyday experience of 1960s postcolonial life with age-old myths and traditions.
'Perhaps the most remarkable African novelist writing in French.' Guardian
Préface
Ahmadou Kourouma's award winning novel, The Suns of Independence is one of the great classics of Francophone African literature, capturing the dreams and struggles of a newly independent nation.
Texte suppl.
One of the few post-colonial African writers with an international reputation.
