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A review by shorshewitch
In the Belly of the Congo by Blaise Ndala
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Expo'58 in Brussels was an international fair that became famous for various reasons - one of them being the "Atomium", a giant aerial structure representing the atom of an iron crystal 165 billion times magnified. It also gained much deserved infamy because of its display of a human zoo in the form of a Congolese village. Approx 600 actual people were "displayed" in this zoo, the section meant to demonstrate the Belgian colonialist claims of having "civilized" the "savage" natives.
🍂 This Expo'58 forms the backdrop of Blaise's novel. Two Kuba princesses of Kinshasa, two formidable young women, form the protagonists of the story. The story occurs in two time periods, 1957-58 and then 46 years later in 2004-05, with locations spanning from Brussels to the Belgian Congo. Some of the events and people in the story are not fiction, like Wendo Kolosoy, Patrice Lumumba and most significantly, the brutality and human cost of colonialism.
🍂 Like most descriptions of the book say, it is an ambitious story, told majorly in the form of first person narrative. In the first part, Tshala Nyota Moelo speaks to her niece Nyota Kwete, and in the second part, Nyota Kwete recites the story in the form of a monologue to her grandpa, King Kena Kwete III. The ancillary characters also have their own stories and ghosts to deal with. It is a very interesting writing style, with long sentences, and multiple character references for the same person. For the first 40% it took me a bit of getting used to, but once I caught the various threads running through the story, and read up a bit more about the history of the region, the next 60% caught pace.
🍂 There are plenty of trigger warnings. Rape, miscarriage, patriarchy, racism, sexual violence - are just a few that are at the top. The biggest trigger warning is the barbarism of the colonialist. No matter the number of books one reads and the stories one hears, the extent of exploitation will always remain deeply disturbing.
🍂 I think I will read the first 40% again after a few months because Tshala's voice will sound different now that I know exactly what happened to her eventually. It's a remarkable book, albeit a bit heavy.
🍂 I read this as a part of #translatedgemsbookclub 's March reading.
🍂 This Expo'58 forms the backdrop of Blaise's novel. Two Kuba princesses of Kinshasa, two formidable young women, form the protagonists of the story. The story occurs in two time periods, 1957-58 and then 46 years later in 2004-05, with locations spanning from Brussels to the Belgian Congo. Some of the events and people in the story are not fiction, like Wendo Kolosoy, Patrice Lumumba and most significantly, the brutality and human cost of colonialism.
🍂 Like most descriptions of the book say, it is an ambitious story, told majorly in the form of first person narrative. In the first part, Tshala Nyota Moelo speaks to her niece Nyota Kwete, and in the second part, Nyota Kwete recites the story in the form of a monologue to her grandpa, King Kena Kwete III. The ancillary characters also have their own stories and ghosts to deal with. It is a very interesting writing style, with long sentences, and multiple character references for the same person. For the first 40% it took me a bit of getting used to, but once I caught the various threads running through the story, and read up a bit more about the history of the region, the next 60% caught pace.
🍂 There are plenty of trigger warnings. Rape, miscarriage, patriarchy, racism, sexual violence - are just a few that are at the top. The biggest trigger warning is the barbarism of the colonialist. No matter the number of books one reads and the stories one hears, the extent of exploitation will always remain deeply disturbing.
🍂 I think I will read the first 40% again after a few months because Tshala's voice will sound different now that I know exactly what happened to her eventually. It's a remarkable book, albeit a bit heavy.
🍂 I read this as a part of #translatedgemsbookclub 's March reading.