Novel
Masseni
Tidiane Dem · 1977
Synopsis
In a small Muslim village of the savannah, before the Second World War, Dady and his wife Minignan remain five years without a child and believe themselves victims of a spell. A marabout provides them with a potion, and a daughter, Masseni, is born. As she grows up, she becomes so beautiful that she attracts many suitors, up to the governor of the colony, while the narrative unfolds the customs and beliefs of the country.
Context
The novel appeared in 1977 from the Nouvelles Éditions africaines, in Abidjan and Dakar, and was reissued in 1989 in the Francopoche series. Winner of the Pegasus Prize, whose award-winning works were published by Louisiana State University, it appeared in English in 1982 in a translation by Frances Frenaye. Kirkus Reviews then saw in it more ethnology than novel; the author worked into it the songs and dialogues of oral tradition, in the Korhogo region that he had known when young.
Who it is for
A novel of about two hundred and fifty pages, in French; an English translation has existed since 1982.
Prizes and reception
Pegasus Prize, awarded in 1980 (in 1979 according to Kirkus Reviews).
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