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A review by fuzzyhebrew
The Death of Comrade President by Alain Mabanckou
funny
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
My favorite line:
"We cheered everything, while despising the poor Europeans and their presidents who couldn't even stay in power until they died. We were flattered that Comrade President Ngouabi and the people in the government loved us so dearly, and had given us such an important mission, unlike the poor pupils in other countries, whose presidents were not Comrade Marien Ngouabi. "
I don't really know whether people in the Congo liked Ngouabi. A lot of the books I've been reading this year feature horrific events seen from the perspectives of children, and I have enjoyed all of them so far. It's easy to fall in love with the naive voice of a child while understanding some things about the world that the character does not. I was also impacted by the imagery of the white cranes juxtaposed with the violent statement the schoolchildren learn that their mission is to sacrifice their lives for their president and will turn into white cranes after death.
The author is also a very interesting person and worth listening to.
The dog lives.
"We cheered everything, while despising the poor Europeans and their presidents who couldn't even stay in power until they died. We were flattered that Comrade President Ngouabi and the people in the government loved us so dearly, and had given us such an important mission, unlike the poor pupils in other countries, whose presidents were not Comrade Marien Ngouabi. "
I don't really know whether people in the Congo liked Ngouabi. A lot of the books I've been reading this year feature horrific events seen from the perspectives of children, and I have enjoyed all of them so far. It's easy to fall in love with the naive voice of a child while understanding some things about the world that the character does not. I was also impacted by the imagery of the white cranes juxtaposed with the violent statement the schoolchildren learn that their mission is to sacrifice their lives for their president and will turn into white cranes after death.
The author is also a very interesting person and worth listening to.
The dog lives.