Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
transition to colonial rule and the subsequent corruption of power by Africa's leaders.
The
Suns of Independence, Monnew
and
Allah Is Not Obliged
are also great reads.
Cameroon's best-known literary figure is the late Mongo Beti.
The Poor Christ of
Bomba
is Beti's cynical recounting of the failure of a missionary to convert the people of
a small village. Other works by Beti include
Mission to Kala
and
Remember Ruben
.
Camara Laye (Guinea) wrote
The African Child
(also called
The Dark Child
), which
was first published in 1954 and is one of the most widely printed works by an African.
California Newsreel (
www.newsreel.org
)
is a terrific resource on African film with extensive reviews and
a Library of African Cinema, where you can order many of the best West African films, especially
Fespaco prize winners.
Morocco
The international spotlight first turned on Morocco's literary scene in the 1950s and '60s,
when Beat Generation authors Paul and Jane Bowles took up residence in Tangier and
began recording the stories of Moroccans they knew. From these efforts came Larb Laya-
chi's
A Life Full of Holes
and Mohammed Mrabet's
Love with a Few Hairs
, and eventu-
ally Mohammed Choukri's
For Bread Alone
. Not surprisingly, these books are packed
with sex, drugs and unexpected poetry, like a lot of Beat literature - but if anything,
they're more streetwise, humorous and heartbreaking.
Numerous daring and distinctive Moroccan voices have found their way into print over
the past two decades, both at home and abroad. Among the most famous works to be pub-
lished by Moroccans living in Morocco are
Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girl-
hood
and
The Veil and the Male Elite: A Feminist Interpretation of Islam
, both by Fatima
Mernissi, an outspoken feminist and professor at the University of Rabat. In Rabati Leila
Abouzeid's
The Year of the Elephant
, one woman's search for life after divorce becomes
a metaphor for Morocco's search for true independence after colonialism. Fez-born expat-
riate author Tahar ben Jelloun combined poetic devices and his training as a psychotherap-
ist in his celebrated novel
The Sand Child
, about a girl raised as a boy by her father in
Marrakesh, and won France's Prix Goncourt for his book
The Sacred Night
.
Several recent Moroccan novels have explored the promise and trauma of emigration,
notably Mahi Binebine's harrowing
Welcome to Paradise
and Laila Lalami's celebrated
Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits
.