Monnew [Paperback]

Ahmadou Kourouma (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1994

Tells the story of Dijgui Keita, king of fictional soba. Certain of the power of his ancestral magic, Keita declines to raise his village before the oncoming colonial troops, initiating the fateful politics of conciliation, compromise, and betrayal that still provides today's post-Colonial Africa.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This powerful, lushly textured novel by Ivory Coast writer Kourouma ( The Suns of Independence ) graphically shows how France systematically plundered underdeveloped Africa through decades of colonial rule and postcolonial meddling. Tyrannical chief Djigui Keita, king of the fictional land of Soba, presides over a closed, hierarchical society devoted to elaborate rituals, clan solidarity, witchcraft and bloody sacrifices. This traditional culture is damaged when French invaders compel the natives to endure monnew (insults and humiliations): public whippings, rapes, torture, executions, internment in forced-labor camps and bondage on plantations. Proud king Djigui initially resists by supplicating Allah and African spirits (his religion mixes Islam with Malinke fetishism) and by "donating" women to the French troops. But these efforts prove futile, and able-bodied Soban men are forced to fight for the French in both world wars. The deposed king is replaced by his son Bema, but independence and one-party rule only exacerbate the nation's corruption, tribalism and brutality. Kouroume's vigorous prose, in this beautiful translation from the French, is an exotic mix tinged with the inflections of his native Malinke language.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This novel concerns the mythical African kingdom of Soba, ruled by an amalgam of fetishism and Islam, that is subjugated into colonialism by the French. The Sobans endure what they term monnew --affronts, humiliation, wrath--as a result of being conquered, sometimes even betraying one another as they try to come to terms with their conquerors. These actions, in turn, thwart the gestures of the occasional humane colonizer like Commandant Heraud. The Petainist regime is even worse, but the Sobans discover that, in the wake of their World War II victory, the Allies vie for territorial spoils. Their king AgeOldMan dies when he learns that his son, Bema, has betrayed him by claiming that he had resigned from the anti-French party. A sobering study in the ambiguities of human nature, rendered in a poetic style, this second book by noted Ivory Coast writer Kourouma is recommended for literary collections.
- Kenneth Mintz, Hoboken P.L., N.J.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Mercury House (March 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1562790587
• ISBN-13: 978-1562790585
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,095,376 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Importance of "Monnew", April 15, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Monnew (Hardcover)

Kourouma creates a narrative in "Monnew" as complex and compelling as Joyce's "Ulysses." The narrative is divided among an indeterminate number of voices (most likely two or three) and in doing so places the reader among the events in the text. The different narratives conflict, and tell different stories of the same event. The reader is thrown amongst this conflictual narrative equipped, with the sharp sarcasm Kourouma is known for, for a reason. The reader cannot truly rely on the narrative and therefore must interpret the situations much in the same way the griot interprets the situation previous to composing an epic or oral tale of it. This unique relationship that Kourouma allows the reader to establish is both engaging and incredibly unique.
Kourouma like many of the top African authors deals with not only the wrongs of colonialism but patriarchy as well. In the west we do not see such compassion for the oppressed gender, as most of our canon consists of European (or of European descent) males writing about men like themselves and not usually giving round characters to the women they portray. Kourouma portrays the strength of the African woman most notably in chapter ten and the ending of the novel with the wife, Moussokoro of the Keita king Djigui.
Kourouma is writing for a purpose in this novel. Like his contemporaries (Ayi Kwei Armah in "2000 Seasons") Kourouma has an incredible ability to deal with history in a way that is encompassing and exciting. By the end of the novel the protagonist who is close to anti-hero status is older than anyone is willing to count and the dawn of African independence is at hand and with it a plethora of new conflicts to confront. In this sense it is somewhat geographically associated prequel to his first novel "THE SUNS OF INDEPENDENCE," which deals with the problems found at the end of "Monnew," throughout its exposition.
This book is at the top of the African Literature reading list. In terms of literature as a whole it is an incredible masterpiece worthy of the world reading. "Monnew" creates such a vivid reading experience that I would recomend it to anyone interested in African Literature, African/World history, or contemporary literary classics that are sure to be enjoyed for a long time.

5.0 out of 5 stars TRANSLATION IN LITERATURE, November 28, 2010

By 

Vakunta - See all my reviews

This review is from: Monnew (Paperback)

Ahmadou Kourouma's second novel, Monnew, is the handiwork of a literary virtuoso. In the narrative, the reader learns that the Malinke term "monnè" does not have an equivalent in the French language. Thus, Kourouma underscores the language question in African literature at the very outset of the novel by hypothesizing a scene in which the central figure, Djigui Keita, a Malinke Monarch, learns of the impossibility of translating the word "monnè" into French:"Then one day, the Age-old [sic] man asked the white man what was the French word for monnè. And the Toubab replied, 'Outrage, defiance, contempt, insult, humiliation, fury, all these words, and many more but it still wouldn't be a complete translation' (Monnew, xiii).Throughout the narrative, the term "monnè" is used to convey the notion of "insult" or "dishonor". The problematic of language usage is addressed in this novel simultaneously with that of cultural intranslatability. Kourouma seems to be preoccupied with the underlining difficulty of cross-cultural communication in African literature. If Monnew reconstitutes the legend of the conquest and colonization of Soba, it is even more about the problem posed by the translation and interpretation of historical facts and reality. The most important character at this turn of events is neither the African monarch nor the white conqueror, but their mediator and interpreter, Soumaré.The pedagogical import of this novel resides in its suitability to the young and not so young. The language is clear and free of sophistry. Students and teachers with an interest in African history, languages, literature and cultures would find the text an invaluable resource. A MUST READ!

[DR.PETER VAKUNTA IS A PROFESSOR OF LITERATURE AND LITERARY THEORY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON]

5.0 out of 5 stars The Importance of "Monnew", April 15, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Monnew (Hardcover)

Kourouma creates a narrative in "Monnew" as complex and compelling as Joyce's "Ulysses." The narrative is divided among an indeterminate number of voices (most likely two or three) and in doing so places the reader among the events in the text. The different narratives conflict, and tell different stories of the same event. The reader is thrown amongst this conflictual narrative equipped, with the sharp sarcasm Kourouma is known for, for a reason. The reader cannot truly rely on the narrative and therefore must interpret the situations much in the same way the griot interprets the situation previous to composing an epic or oral tale of it. This unique relationship that Kourouma allows the reader to establish is both engaging and incredibly unique.
Kourouma like many of the top African authors deals with not only the wrongs of colonialism but patriarchy as well. In the west we do not see such compassion for the oppressed gender, as most of our canon consists of European (or of European descent) males writing about men like themselves and not usually giving round characters to the women they portray. Kourouma portrays the strength of the African woman most notably in chapter ten and the ending of the novel with the wife, Moussokoro of the Keita king Djigui.
Kourouma is writing for a purpose in this novel. Like his contemporaries (Ayi Kwei Armah in "2000 Seasons") Kourouma has an incredible ability to deal with history in a way that is encompassing and exciting. By the end of the novel the protagonist who is close to anti-hero status is older than anyone is willing to count and the dawn of African independence is at hand and with it a plethora of new conflicts to confront. In this sense it is somewhat geographically associated prequel to his first novel "THE SUNS OF INDEPENDENCE," which deals with the problems found at the end of "Monnew," throughout its exposition.
This book is at the top of the African Literature reading list. In terms of literature as a whole it is an incredible masterpiece worthy of the world reading. "Monnew" creates such a vivid reading experience that I would recomend it to anyone interested in African Literature, African/World history, or contemporary literary classics that are sure to be enjoyed for a long time.