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Today, “Batouala” by René Maran, republished on September 1, 2021 by Éditions Albin Michel.
Alain Raimbault, contributor to the
20 Minutes
Books
reading group
, recommends Batouala by René Maran, published on September 1, 2021 by Éditions Albin Michel.
Her favorite quote:
“Now they were just slaves. There was nothing to be hoped for from a heartless race. Because they had no heart, the “boundjous”. They abandoned the children they had of black women. Knowing that they were the sons of whites, the latter did not deign to frequent the negroes. Full of hatred and envy, in "boundjouvoukos" that they were, these whites and blacks lived hated by all, rotten with vices, lazy and evil. As for white women, no need to talk about it. "
Why this book?
Because this novel, whose centenary is being celebrated, was one of the first
to describe as it is, in a naturalistic style, the colonialism at work in the Central African Republic.
He draws the unvarnished portrait of the lazy, violent, ignorant, alcoholic, unjust, venal and profiteer colonial administrator.
This courageous novel written by a colonial administrator himself denounces the horrors of colonization.
Because on the one hand René Maran received the Goncourt Prize (1921)
for this book, on the other he was discredited by the power in place and the right-thinking intellectuals who had no doubts, then, of the benefits colonialism.
And there were many at the time.
Because even if
the author casts a benevolent gaze on the victims, he remains objective
for the sake of describing without judging traditions such as polygamy, circumcision, excision, dances and songs, hunting, ceremonies surrounding mourning or the social relationships that governed daily life.
Because this work has become a classic of world literature.
She is terribly brave.
It paves the way for this movement which will later be that of Negritude or the “Harlem Renaissance” in the United States.
The Albin Michel editions which published this novel in 1921 are right to make us rediscover this essential masterpiece today.
The essentials in 2 minutes
The plot.
Batouala is the chief of several villages and has several wives.
Young Bissibingui falls in love with the beautiful Yassiguindja.
This one is not at all insensitive to his charms.
Alas, she is the favorite of Batouala who will then try to kill her rival.
Characters.
Batouala, village chief.
Yassiguindja, wife of Batouala.
Bissibingui, a vigorous young hunter.
Colonial administrators.
Places.
L'Oubangui-Chari, now the Central African Republic.
The time.
The years 1914-1918, during the First World War.
The author.
René Maran was born in Martinique in 1887. He was colonial administrator in Oubangui-Chari in the 1910s, a territory where he patiently writes his novel.
He will then give up his career to devote himself to writing.
This book has been reread with
sadness for the facts described and amazement at the courage of the author and the meticulous description of life in Oubangui-Chari in the 1910s.
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