Novel · A way to begin
Snares Without End
Un piège sans fin
Olympe Bhêly-Quénum · 1960
Synopsis
Taken in by an inhabitant of Zado as he emerges from the bush at the end of his strength, Ahouna tells the story of his life. The son of a well-off family, he saw his father, forced into compulsory labour and beaten by the colonial commandant, sink into despair. Married to Anatou, whom he loves, and a father, he sees his wife one day accuse him of an infidelity that he denies, on the strength of her dreams. Life together becomes untenable, and Ahouna ends by leaving on foot, without money or provisions, on a long wandering in which his existence tips over.
Context
Encouraged to write by André Breton, to whom he had told a dream, the author published this first novel with Stock. Marked by existentialism and by classical tragedy, the book indirectly denounces colonisation; the press reviewed it, from Combat, under the pen of Alain Bosquet, to La Croix and the magazine Bingo. Reissued in 1978, translated into English by Dorothy Blair under the title Snares Without End in 1981, it has remained a model of writing for generations of African schoolchildren and students.
Who it is for
For readers who like tragic narratives, in a classical language, in which an ordinary man slides from one misfortune to the next.
Prizes and reception
Read in African schools and universities since its publication, it is the book that established its author in African literature.
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