Word: boula
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Matapari is a likable narrator, however, and the antics of Uncle Boula Boula steal the show. If you can ignore the political flag-waving, the book makes for light and lively reading. But those looking for an insightful look at contemporary Africa will likely be disappointed: Little Boys Come from the Stars is more a charming story of boyhood interspersed with political satire, than vice versa...
...French Les Petits Garcons Naissent Aussi des Etoiles), his first book out of exile, reads as a political satire. Through the eyes of 15-year-old Matapari, we get a naïve, Candide-like account of Congolese politics, especially from Matapari’s impressions of his Uncle Boula Boula, the lapdog extraordinaire of the regime-of-the-moment. During a visit from the “President” (actually a Communist dictator) and his officials, Matapari remarks, “What struck me most during the visit of these ambassadors of the Man-Always-Proven-Right...
...isolated episode, and together they are a jumble of modestly-interesting anecdotes, with little attempt at a flowing plot. Matapari’s voice can go from the ingenuously naïve to the foolishly simplistic, occasionally succumbing to predictable sermons on the merits of democracy and education. Uncle Boula Boula eventually finds himself on the wrong side of the political carousel and is imprisoned after a mock court case. After leading a revolt for democracy, Matapari’s father is also thrown in jail. During a rally to free his father, Matapari asks, “Why were...
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