Republic of Congo: Little Boys Come from the Stars by Emmanuel Dongala

This is the story of a kid who was almost never born, as he himself expresses at the very opening of the book. He was born a whole day after his twin brothers, something that had never happened in the Congolese village the kid was from, and due to the inexplicable connotation this event had on his people, he was dubbed Matapari (trouble).

The day he was born, on the 20^th anniversary of Congo’s independence from France, an amalgam of witnesses was present: the most famous midwife of the region, his uncle (a cunning and unscrupulous politician in the making), a Muslim merchant, a catholic priest, and the Chief of Police representing the President of the Republic. Add to these assembly two American motorcycles, a roman bicycle, holy water, verses from the Koran, bodyguards, and an accidental one-shot salute, and you get the undertone that is going to be present throughout the book: a depiction of a side of Africa that is seldom exposed.

The novel takes place during the events occurring in the Republic of Congo after its independence and up to the onset of democracy, as seen through the eyes of a 15-year-old whose fascination with Coca-Cola I found amusing. The novel satirizes the inconsistencies and surrealities that occur under communist governments, exponentially amplified by its pairing with dictatorial regimes and serial coup d’ètat. The satirical tone of the novel is more effective since it is expressed through the voice of a kid who is involuntarily caricaturizing his circumstances.

 

The main aim of the author’s ridicule is politics and the damage done to African countries by the dishonesty and ignorance of those in power, who are embodied in the character of Boula Boula, Matapari’s uncle. Boula Boula is dubbed by the people “Comrade FARCE” after the initials of his position in the government and when talked about nepotism he thinks it is a business opportunity.  Matapari’s unassuming satire also hits religion through his observations of Father Boniface, the Catholic priest, and his own mother, a devout Catholic who realizes through the course of the novel that prays need to be accompanied by a tightening of her boubou wraparound skirt in order to fight.

Once the novel is read, the aftertaste can best be described by a quote taken from the book: "...life is lots of gray clouds in a great blue sky."

Book available at Amazon/Kidle