72. Houseboy by Ferdinand Oyono

Title: Houseboy

Author: Ferdinand Oyono

Translator: John Reed

Genre: Novella/Anti-Colonialist

Publishers: Heinemann (African Writers Series)

Pages: 122

Year of Publication: 1956 (in French), 1966 (in English)

Country: Cameroon

For the Africa Reading Challenge

This is a story by a Houseboy written in the first person and in the form of diary entries in two exercise books. It describes the relationship between French colonialists and native Cameroonians during the period of colonisation from a Houseboy's perspectives.

The Houseboy, Toundi, escaped from Cameroon where he was wanted for an alleged crime - a crime he did not commit but has been framed up for his part of spreading the amorous and sexual encounters between his master's - the local Commandant - wife and the giant Prison Officer, M. Moreau. As a Houseboy, Toundi, saw a lot in the house of his master especially when his master's wife came to the household. And as innocent as he was couldn't keep his mouth shut on such issues but went ahead to ask questions pertaining to what he sees and it was these that put him into trouble with his master's wife and which later led to his death after escaping to Spanish Guinea. For instance, after discovering a condom under the bed of his master's wife, after she had asked to him to clean the place, the master's wife got angry and threw him out of the room. This got Toundi shocked. He doesn't know why a common rubber should make the master's wife angry so he set out to ask the other workers in the household who told him,

Toundi, will you never learn what a houseboy's job is? One of these days you'll be the cause of real trouble. When will you grasp that for the whites, you are only alive to do their work and for no other reason. I am the cook. The white man does not see me except with his stomach. (Page 87)

Innocent as Toundi was and fascinated by the ways of the whites, he kept on asking questions even when Kalisia had told him to leave the household because

... they will never forgive you for that. How can they go on strutting about with a cigarette hanging our of their mouth in front of you - when you know. (Page 100)

Toundi himself had run away from home when his greed led to a quarrel between his father and his friend's father. It was this greed for simple things like a lump of sugar that led him to seek shelter at Father Gilbert's residence and later the Commandant. Using this, Oyono shows how our greed for foreign things has led us to sell ourselves and conscience, has led us to reject ourselves, so that beaten and trampled and killed we still cling onto this greed.

When the Germans made the first war on the French his younger brother was killed fighting for the French. When the Germans made the second war on the French his two sons were killed fighting for the Germans. (Page 36)

The above quote shows the extent of the greed and the indecisiveness of natives' allegiance (note that Cameroon was first ruled by the Germans and then by French). Toundi's mother even predicted that his greed would lead him to his death.

My mother always used to say what my greediness would bring me to in the end... (Page 4)

From Toundi's exercise book dairy entries we are told of how Christianity was used to deceive the populace to succumb even though the propagators of the gospel practiced not their preach. They have illicit affairs, drunk, and extort. They arrest innocent civilians, beat them and when they die ask the natives to pray for their souls. Though the French (Europeans) pretended to hate the blacks (natives) and would sit at different places even at church services and use different entrance, they still slept with the natives and hide their deeds from one another.

I know why the Commandant is not like other European men without madams - who send their boys into the location to hire 'mamie' for them. I wonder what the commandant's wife will be like. (Page 46)

Oyono mixes humour and wittiness to explore the complex relations between Europeans and native Cameroonians. For instance, they (Europeans) showed more love for animals and plants than they did to humans. 

Next we went to see the goat-park. Madame kept murmuring, 'Ah how sweet they are! How pretty they are!' She let them lick her hands. Then she stopped by the bed of roses and hibiscus. She bent down in front of each flower and breathed its scent in deeply. I was on the other side of the flower-bed facing her. She had forgotten I was there. (Page 48)

The perception of Europeans was also made clear from Toundi's keen observation. We see how each European tries to tell a 'better' story that shows how much the 'African is a child or a fool'. And when the father died in Africa and called him a martyr because he had died in Africa.

They lamented 'the Martyr' as they called Father Gilbert because he died on African soil. (Page 52)

The limitation of the story is that we know all these only from Toundi's opinions. Thus, Toundi's interpretation of peoples' actions is all that we know not their own interpretation. This is small book of only 122 pages contains a lot to make one laugh, cry and annoyed. And I would recommend to all. It's one of those stories you can read right after a very difficult book or you can use prop up a slump in one's reading.

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Brief Bio: Ferdinand Léopold Oyono (14 September 1929 – 10 June 2010) was an author from Cameroon whose work is recognized for a sense of irony that reveals how easily people can be fooled. Writing in French in the 1950s, Oyono had only a brief literary career, but his anti-colonialist novels are considered classics of 20th century African literature; his first novel, Une vie de boy—published in 1956 and later translated as Houseboy—is considered particularly important. Beginning in the 1960s, Oyono had a long career of service as a diplomat and as a minister in the government of Cameroon. As one of President Paul Biya's top associates, he ultimately served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1992 to 1997 and then as Minister of State for Culture from 1997 to 2007. (Source)

62. Neighbours: The Story of a Murder by Lília Momplé, A Review

Title: Neighbours: The Story of a Murder

Author: Lília Momplé

Translators: Richard Bartlett and Isaura de Oliveira

Genre: Fiction/Novella

Publishers: Heinemann (African Writers Series)

Pages: 133

Year of Publication: 1995 (In Portuguese), 2001 (In English)

Country: Mozambique

For the Africa Reading Challenge

ASIDE: The cover illustration of this book (at least the version I have from Heinemann as shown on the left) is by Malangatana. I got to know this great artist on the day he died, January 5, 2011, through a fellow blogger Abena Serwaa. His paintings are so unique that the very moment I saw the cover of this book I knew it is hi work (though I had only known him and his works for about two days as of the time of reading).

When Mozambique gained its independence on June 25, 1975, the country sought to help freedom fighters in South Africa and Zimbabwe in their quest to shatter the chains of oppressive regimes: colonialism and apartheid respectively. However, the apartheid South African government of the time financed and sponsored armed groups in Mozambique called the Mozambique National Resistance (RENAMO) to sabotage the new government through murder and various acts of terrorism. This sabotage was aimed at destabilising the new government and inciting the citizens to reject the influx of South African refugees and ANC (African National Congress - South Africa's political organisation that was fighting against the apartheid government) members into the neighbouring country. 

It is within this setting that Momplé's story is told. She writes in the preface:

Oppression can take many forms. Neighbours was written out of my horror at the way countries can abuse each other's sovereignty for their own ends with impunity. Like many Mozambicans, I lived through decades when South Africa did as it pleased in Mozambique in order to protect the interests of the apartheid regime. During this period many Mozambicans were killed or had their lives destroyed. It is to them that I dedicate this book.

A sad premise for a story, even more when the premise is factual rather than fictitious. Neighbours is a story about the lives of five families - two of which would later become the victims and three, the perpetrators - as they struggle through the dark days leading to Mozambique's independence and the gloom and hopelessness that hung over the country such that people thought it best to flee the country and seek better living in various European countries especially Portugal.

Romu is a black Mozambican whose allegiance to the Portuguese' (the colonialist) cause is runs deep and is unquestionable. This resolve to protect the colonialist's grip on power results from an unstable childhood heaped onto him by his promiscuous mother and his own delinquencies. So that when the colonialists lost its grip on power and acceded to FRELIMO's (the organisation that fought for independence) campaign and fight for independence Romu's heart was broken. He felt his entire life's work - fighting alongside the colonialist's troops as they killed black Mozambicans - has come to naught. It is within this sombreness that he was approached by the two South African terrorists - Rui (a Mozambican who had fled to South Africa after the unsuccessful September 7 reactionary coup d’état by Portuguese settlers) and a real South African Boer. Romu sees the killing of Mozambican citizens to further the cause of white supremacy in South Africa, which would perhaps lead to the return of the Portuguese to Mozambique, as a chance to bring back the colonialist to power. Thus, Romu's motive of joining this massacre is his hatred against his own people.

Zaliua's motive of joining this cause was a thirst for revenge. Having left his mother in the hinterlands of Mozambique into the city, Zaliua worked his way up to become the head of the Criminal Investigation Police in Nacala under the colonial government. Thereafter Zaliua resorted to cheating, and corruption to enrich himself. However, a year after independence he was deposed, arrested and sentenced to a prison term. His wealth having been accumulated through corrupt practices were confiscated. However, Zaliua upon release decides to seek vengeance on the country and its people that have let him down; that never saw what he did to help them - appreciating his works with a prison term and poverty.

Dupont's motive was financially motivated. Coming from a family where every member is well-off, he is considered a loser and his marriage to Mena worsened his plight amongst his family, as Mena is considered to be of 'low social class' or 'an inferior race'. And when his family left for Portugal, Dupont made it a point to amass wealth in order to prove to his family that he could make it without their help.

These three individuals together with the two terrorists entered into the neighbourhood of Narguiss, an obese woman who - at the night of Eid, when no moon has appeared to warrant the celebration - was waiting for his cuckold husband and Leia and Januario and their daughter, Iris, of two years.

The story is told within twenty-four hours with the sections marked by specific times that certain events took place. The storyline of each person or family seems to run independent of the other until they come together at the peak when the murders were committed. By providing enough background information of each person or family, the event of their deaths was more felt than it would have otherwise been had we known nothing about them. For instance, we know that Januario's family were burnt in his village after he was helped by his mother to escape the abjectness of their lives in the bush where he had lived with his family. We also know that Narguiss has a family of daughters, with the youngest at the university seeking to come out as a medical practitioner. We also know that that evening Narguiss was only waiting for the moon to appear and her husband to come home so they could celebrate the Eid together, as they had been doing over the years. And for all these innocent, normal people to be caught up in a scheme they know nothing about because one country wants keep its grip on power is, to say the least, upsetting.

Though this book is only 131 pages (excluding the glossary), all characters are fully developed and we could sympathise them, hate them, love them, pity them. Momplé strips the story down to its essentials. This story is thus a historical fiction, where the characters could easily be identified with by numerous individuals. My only problem is that it was short.

This is a book I would recommend to everyone lover of African literature especially the Lusophonic part of Africa.

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Brief Bio: Lilia Momplé was born in 1935 on the Island of Mozambique and obtained a BA in Social Work in Portugal. She was Secretary General of the Mozambique Writers' Association from 1995 to 2001 and President from 1997 to 1999. She has also represented her country at a number of international cultural assemblies, and has recently been appointed to the UNESCO Executive Council. Her publications include No One Killed Suhara (1988), The Eyes of the Green Cobra (1997) and the script for the award-winning Mozambican video drama Muhupitit Alima (1988). Her novel Neighbours was first published in Portuguese in 1995. Lilia Momple lives with her husband in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. (Source)

ImageNations Rating: 5.0 out 6.0

56. The Return of the Water Spirit by Pepetela

Title: The Return of the Water Spirit

Author: Pepetela

Translator: Luis R. Mitras

Genre: Fiction/Novella

Publishers: Heinmann (African Writers Series)

Pages: 102

Year of First Publication: 1995 (in Portuguese); 2002 (in English)

Country: Angola

For the Africa Reading Challenge

Buildings are coming down in Kinaxixi Square in Luanda. People and property are thrown out and the building just dissolves, the cement turning into powder. And this is happening to buildings within a certain path - the phenomenon has been christened 'Luanda Syndrome' and no one seems to know the cause. Tourists, scientists and criminal investigators are always around to collect samples for testing. Yet, the results yield nothing. However, a small girl named Cassandra alone hears the songs of the Water Spirit. As more of the buildings come down, throwing people and property into safety, the Water Spirit's songs become no more mournful but victorious. Is the Water Spirit the cause of the falling houses, granted that the lagoon in the city had been blocked and built over? So Carmina's husband, Joao Evangelista, thinks. But Carmina, a member of the Youth wing of the communist Party in power, attributes the falling buildings to sabotage and even to the Americans testing a new technology.

The story is told on the backdrop of a country that was gradually changing over from communism to a market economy in the midst of war. As a result everybody is trying to take advantage of this change to better themselves leading to massive class struggle and the creation of dual economies. Some succeeded others did not.

Thousands of homeless children loitered in the streets, thousands of youth sold and resold things to those that drove past in their cars, countless numbers of war amputees begged for alms at the market. At the same time, important people had luxury cars with smoked glass. No one ever saw their faces. (Page 84)

Party members are stealing state property to enrich themselves, civil and public servants are stealing from their workplace with the poorly corrupt getting arrested, others are forming political parties only to receive subsidies from the government. Corruption has become the order of the day and those who are poor in it found trouble

'How's a minor clerk like me going to find an extra source of income? If I had a company car, I'd use it as a taxi. [...] If I was in a government department, I'd ask for a fee to issue a particular certificate or testimonial. [...] (Page 77)

The poor are so poor that even when they steal they are poor at it - they get caught in no time. (Page 78)

For those whose buildings have fallen in a country with housing shortages and a war that has amplified all domestic problems, the only way to make the government listen is to walk nude. Soon the nudeness infected all the struggling masses so that a movement ensued which vowed to denude any clothed person - sharing their poverty with the rich. 

'...In no time we'll be millions and no one fights against millions. Then, yes, that will be the moment to impose social equality by force, that is, to tear off the clothes of the rich.' (Page 96)

Carmina is also faced with a choice: follow the direction of change or lose out. She is a hard-working, strong and opinionated woman married to a man brought up in a missionary school and home with a long-line of church ministers in his family. The relationship between the two is dull with Joao Evangelista heading nowhere with his life except with the games he plays daily on the computer Carmina gave him as a wedding present. He is excessively obsequious, full of thought but empty of action. And it is from his perspective, or point of view, that the story is told.

Both the locals and foreign nationals turn the misfortune of the falling houses into a money-making venture and a spectacle to behold, respectively.

A charter plane full of German tourists then arrived, immediately followed by one with South Africans, then one with Japanese, and then, surprising as it sounds, with Finns. (Page 67)

'I was still trying to sell the old set with the third building when it fell [...] I'm preparing a new set. They're doing it all over town. It's a way of making money. It's a pity there are so few buildings left. That'll be the end of business.' (Page 80) 

In this novel, Pepetela has brought together two separate stories: the Water Spirit and Economic Struggle. We learn of how corruption begins, how it's fed and how it grows into proportions that make it almost impossible to control. We also read of how war turns the minutest of problems into a huge one difficult to solve. My only problem is that the merging of the Water Spirit and the struggling going on did not seem to gel well. I wanted to know if people would realise that it was the Water Spirit that was causing all the buildings to fall and suppurating water from the ground where no pipes have burst or no source of water was. However, overall, this is a novel one could read and love.

ImageNations Rating: 4.5 out of 6.0

Pepetela

Brief Bio: Pepetela is the nom de plume of Angolan author Artur Carlos Mauricio Pestana born in 1941. He is a political activist, sociologist, writer and teacher and was a guerrilla, a representative of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). He also studied Engineering in Portugal. His works include Mayombe (1980), The Generation of Utopia (1992) and Parable of the Old Tortoise (1987). He has about twenty literary works to his name, the most recent being The near End of the World (2008) and O Planalto e a Estepe (2009). He is the youngest author to receive the Camoes Prize, the highest decorations of Portuguese Literature, in 1997. 

22. Duskland by J.M. Coetzee

Title: Dusklands

Author J.M. Coetzee

Publishers: Vintage

Genre: Novella

Pages: 125

Year: First Published 1974 (this edition, 2004)

Country: South Africa/Australia

This is my first reading of a Nobel Prize Winner and I wasn't disappointed. Duskland consist of two novelettes: The Vietnam Project and The Narrative of Jacobus Coetzee.

THE VIETNAM PROJECT: This novelette was written or narrated in the first person and set during the Vietnam war. A psychologist Eugene Dawn developed a novel psychological war strategy to be used to win the remaining phases of the war. Having been asked by his supervisor, Coetzee, to revise his propaganda, Eugene criticised himself so much that he was overtaken by the stress of the work and finally ceded to a mental breakdown.

It is an interesting novelette and shows that the casualties of war are not only those whose bones fill the belly of the earth but include those whose mental constitution succumbs to the stress of war. Coetzee's (the author) narrative is compelling filled with reality to such an extent that the reader would keep guessing whether what is being read is real or fictitious.

THE NARRATIVE OF JACOBUS COETZEE: This Coetzee is different from the Coetzee in the first novelette and from J.M. Coetzee the author. The Narrative of Jacobus Coetzee was set in the year 1760. Coetzee (the character) narrates his travels through the territories of the Namaqua Hottentots with his cattle, horses and slaves. 

This is a story that shows or put into perspectives man's love for savagery and for oppression. As Coetzee came upon the Namaqua Hottentots he presented them with the gift of tobacco and copper as he had heard many such travellers who have travelled through the region do. Yet, the Namaquas' reaction to his gift and the fascination with which he was held was so unexpected and out of the order of 'human' life that Coetzee perceived them to none other than barbarians and savages. He therefore treated them as such, threatening to shoot to kill if anyone touches his wagon. His description of the people showed no respect and he put them on equal footing with animals.

Yet the novel clearly shows that it was Coetzee who was a savage for after the people of Namaqua had treated him of his sickness and him showing no respect to them, they cast him out to go his lonely way. Losing five of his six slaves infuriated him most and increased his resolve for vengeance. As he made his journey back home and Coetzee reflected on what has happened to him and realised that he has retrogressed from a 'well set elephant hunter to a white Bushman'; yet to him this retrogression was insignificant and insignificant also was his treatment by the Namaqua people. It was on the journey back with Klawer (the remaining slave) that the bond and respect between master and slave dissolved, for when Klawer the slave fell sick Coetzee carried him on his back for most of the journey back; but in the end he left him to his fate promising to come back for him, which he never did or was not recorded.

Coetzee travelled back to the Great River to execute his vengeance by savagely killing all his slaves who deserted him and some of other Hottentots. The way and manner in which he ordered them to be killed or were killed by him and the happiness and satisfaction he derived from these killings fit  his own definition of savagery as 

"... a way of life based on disdain for the value of human life and sensual delight in the pain of others."

It was interesting to note that the Afterword and the Appendix (which was an exposition by the Councillor) both highlighted the positive parts of Coetzee's adventures leaving out his massacre of the Namaqua people. This is a way of saying that such people do not matter.

The narration is different from most narratives I have read. I can't point out what it is I liked about it but it was really a good read but it was also short and the plot was not tight. The climax was not as sharp as it should have been. It was a terse narrative. I would recommend this to all. Though the first novelette has nothing to do with  Africa the second does.

ImageNations' Rating: 5.0 out of 6.0

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