Little Boys Come from the Stars

Fiction & Literature, Coming of Age
Cover of the book Little Boys Come from the Stars by Emmanuel Dongala, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Emmanuel Dongala ISBN: 9780374708054
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Publication: May 15, 2007
Imprint: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Language: English
Author: Emmanuel Dongala
ISBN: 9780374708054
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication: May 15, 2007
Imprint: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Language: English

The peculiar and moving story of a Congolese boy's coming-of-age amid the political strife of postcolonial Congo

"It is even said-but I admit that it's difficult to believe, even though I got this from my uncle-that when Papa was born, you couldn't follow the World Cup or the Olympics live and that Coca-Cola had yet to spread the selling of soft drinks to our village. Michael Jackson had yet to become famous . . . If all this was really true, I wonder how men managed to fill up the twenty-four hours of the day, three hundred sixty-five days a year."

His nickname is Matapari, which means "trouble." He is an African child of the '90s-brilliant, mischievous, postcolonial, postmodern-caught in the crossfire of a chaotically liberated African country. Matapari grows up in a world of talking drums, the Internet, and satellite TV, a world of dictators who remake themselves as democrats overnight. His uncle is a stooge for the dictator; his father is a scholarly recluse obsessed with proving that blacks played key roles in Western history. Matapari is a young man in the middle-but the shrewdness and wit with which he tells his often riotously funny story set him apart from his relatives and countrymen. Emmanuel Dongala uses the ingenious viewpoint of a child to show up the telltale world of adults-and to show how one preserves one's independence in a corrupt and violent society.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The peculiar and moving story of a Congolese boy's coming-of-age amid the political strife of postcolonial Congo

"It is even said-but I admit that it's difficult to believe, even though I got this from my uncle-that when Papa was born, you couldn't follow the World Cup or the Olympics live and that Coca-Cola had yet to spread the selling of soft drinks to our village. Michael Jackson had yet to become famous . . . If all this was really true, I wonder how men managed to fill up the twenty-four hours of the day, three hundred sixty-five days a year."

His nickname is Matapari, which means "trouble." He is an African child of the '90s-brilliant, mischievous, postcolonial, postmodern-caught in the crossfire of a chaotically liberated African country. Matapari grows up in a world of talking drums, the Internet, and satellite TV, a world of dictators who remake themselves as democrats overnight. His uncle is a stooge for the dictator; his father is a scholarly recluse obsessed with proving that blacks played key roles in Western history. Matapari is a young man in the middle-but the shrewdness and wit with which he tells his often riotously funny story set him apart from his relatives and countrymen. Emmanuel Dongala uses the ingenious viewpoint of a child to show up the telltale world of adults-and to show how one preserves one's independence in a corrupt and violent society.

More books from Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Cover of the book Cinnamon Moon by Emmanuel Dongala
Cover of the book The Silver Branch by Emmanuel Dongala
Cover of the book The Delighted States by Emmanuel Dongala
Cover of the book Black Elk by Emmanuel Dongala
Cover of the book 100 Poems by Emmanuel Dongala
Cover of the book What to Eat by Emmanuel Dongala
Cover of the book Odds Against Tomorrow by Emmanuel Dongala
Cover of the book Speak the Speech! by Emmanuel Dongala
Cover of the book The Submission by Emmanuel Dongala
Cover of the book The One and Only Stuey Lewis by Emmanuel Dongala
Cover of the book On the Road to Mr. Mineo's by Emmanuel Dongala
Cover of the book Tink by Emmanuel Dongala
Cover of the book Goodbye, Charley by Emmanuel Dongala
Cover of the book Jasmine Toguchi, Mochi Queen by Emmanuel Dongala
Cover of the book The Twenty-four Days Before Christmas by Emmanuel Dongala
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy