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We live in a world where we can tell neither head nor tail. We live in a world that jeers at you and proffers insults, an incestuous world that robs you of hope. [23] It is definitely a century that hands its head in shame. Our elders have been called impotent, and we are accused of being 'limp'. [31] We are all sick and tired of this suffocation, of this monarch lording it over his people. Everybody can feel that this is a sterile century. Even love is finding it hard to thrive. [31] Somewhere, a young man wallows in his suffering - his wound so deep he cannot draw a distinction between love and destruction. When he fights, he wounds his adversary like a fighter in search of victory. [59] His pain is so great that he wants to punish all women, but I tell him, 'No, love is the colour of hope. Bitter today, sweet tomorrow. You should not throw away your wealth of tenderness and let the honey-filled caresses dry up. Do not be wicked just to prove who you are, just to ...

Title: As the Crow Flies Author: Veronique Tadjo Translator: Wangui wa Goro Original Language: French Publishers: Heinemann (AWS) Pages: 104 Year of First Publication: 2001 Country: Cote d'Ivoire Read for the African Reading Challenge As the Crow Flies is a love story of some sorts. The story is a cascade of individual stories capable of standing on their own as shown by one thread which was published under the title Betrayal  in the Opening Spaces  edited by Yvonne Vera. The story opens with a woman whose husband also has a wife. Initially, she was happy; her heart was filled with joy. Then things began to change and she was not happy anymore. There was a detachment, somewhat. And she applied for a divorce. The coming of this woman, from abroad, to meet this man interspersed several sections of the story. Thus, as if the story is diverting from some course, which it always did, then suddenly the woman at an airport comes up.  From this som...

Title: The Shadow of Imana: Travels in the Heart of Rwanda Author: Veronique Tadjo Translator: Veronique Wakerley Genre: Non-Fiction/Travelogue Publishers: Heinemann (Africa Writers Series) Pages: 118 Year of Publication: 2000 (In French); 2002 (In English) Country: Cote d'Ivoire For the Africa Reading Challenge When I embarked on the Africa Reading Challenge I never thought the genre of books I would be selecting would be so varied. But that is exactly what it turned out to be. Veronique's book The Shadow of Imana  chronicles a traveller's views, response and reports on the Rwandan genocide and it is the first non-fiction travelogue I have read. In 1998, Veronique travelled to Rwanda to find out what might actually have motivated the genocide and this book is the product of such an investigation. However, more importantly, the book is more than just a recording of interviews, views and facts. Its prose boasts of poetic tendencies so that the w...