A review by serendipitysbooks
So Long a Letter by Mariama Bâ

emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

So Long A Letter is semi autobiographical novel in which Ramatoulaye, a Senegalese woman doing ‘iddah, a mourning period for Muslim widows, writes to her best friend. The letter covers a range of topics - her emotions at her husband’s death (very complicated given he’d essentially abandoned her for a polygamous second marriage with a young teen), the realities of her marriage and her friend’s marriage, politics, religion, polygamy, the challenges of being a single mother, the changing political situation in Africa, the status of her children, education, religion, and her views of men. As a western reader it was easy to be shocked by some of the ways women were treated but I also noted the ways and places they had agency and stood up for their rights and wishes, and the signs of generational change to come. The power of education and of female friendship in helping women survive in a patriarchal world were well made. I need to check the present status of Senegalese women to see how these signs of change panned out. 
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