A review by danielles_reads
In the Company of Men by Véronique Tadjo

informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

 I envy the people who live elsewhere, far away from this country. They can still believe in happiness. They make plans for their future and that of their children. Their sleep is undisturbed by nightmares. I envy those lucky enough to find a certain measure of fulfillment in their lives. For them, obstacles aren't insurmountable. 

This ended up not being what I was expecting at all. I know the synopsis says "a series of moving snapshots", but this felt like a collection of mini essays pretending to be fiction. Kind of like if Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 was a short story collection of multiple characters.

There were some emotional moments due to the sheer scale of loss experienced during the Ebola epidemic, but since none of the POV characters are named and we never really get to know them, the loss doesn't linger. I did feel sad a few times, like when a man's fiancée suddenly died, but I really wish this had gone more into the daily life and experiences of those most affected rather than list off facts of what happened. I did learn more about the Ebola epidemic from this, since it happened at a busy time in my life when I wasn't really paying attention to world news. This reminded me that the world is a lot bigger than myself and my experiences, which is what I always hope for when I read translated works, especially those by authors from the Global South.

I will say that I think the intent of the author was to educate, considering that the actual name of the country that the book takes place in is never named. It's like the book is supposed to be a generic stand-in for the experiences of those affected by Ebola.

My favorite parts were the chapters from the POVs of non-human characters, which is where this book really felt like a novel, especially with a more experimental bent. The chapter from the POV of the Ebola virus itself was my favorite, as it effectively showed that viruses are just trying to survive like humans, while leaving destruction in their wake that humans may or may not deserve. I did like the ones from the POV of the bats and the Baobab tree too, since they reflected on the fleeting nature of humans while also being incredibly destructive in the rush to "modernize."

Some of the best quotes from the POV of the Ebola virus:

I know nothing about their beliefs. I'm not governed by any law. I'm here purely for the sake of existing. I am me, period. An organism that needs to reproduce itself. No compromise. No negotiation. I'm alive, and I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to stay that way. My only needs are to feed and to defend myself. A pile of flesh will do. Any kind of receptacle, animal or human, it's all the same to me. I'm neither good nor bad. Such judgments are useless. I'm like a plant that grows, like a spider that devours its prey.

Humans lament their fate, but they're no better than I am. They have no lessons to teach to anyone. They should instead take a hard look at the evil they have inflicted and continue to inflict on themselves, deliberately, ever since they first walked the earth.

They are destructive by nature, much more so than I am. And yet, although they are perfectly aware of that fact, they refuse to acknowledge it. They prefer to delude themselves, to believe themselves superior to the other creatures in this world. Rulers, tyrants of this planet, that's what they are, and their power is absolute. Their arrogance has made them forget every  limit. Worse, they slaughter one another without mercy, and they come up with crueler ways of tormenting and killing every single day. They always find new reasons for starting wars.