Description

Book Synopsis

The Dark Child is a distinct and graceful memoir of French author Camara Laye's youth in the village of Koroussa, French Guinea.

Long regarded as Africa's preeminent Francophone novelist, Laye (1928-1980) herein marvels over his mother's supernatural powers, his father's distinction as the village goldsmith, and his own passage into manhood, which is marked by animistic beliefs and bloody rituals of primeval origin. Eventually, he must choose between this unique place and the academic success that lures him to distant cities. More than an autobiography of one boy, this is the universal story of sacred traditions struggling against the encroachment of a modern world.

A passionate and deeply affecting record, The Dark Child is a classic of African literature.

The Dark Child

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    A Paperback by Camara Laye

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      Book details

      Publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux
      Published 12/31/1994
      ISBN-13 9780809015481
      978-0809015481
      ISBN-10 080901548X
      Also in:
      Autobiography: writers

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      The Dark Child is a distinct and graceful memoir of French author Camara Laye's youth in the village of Koroussa, French Guinea.

      Long regarded as Africa's preeminent Francophone novelist, Laye (1928-1980) herein marvels over his mother's supernatural powers, his father's distinction as the village goldsmith, and his own passage into manhood, which is marked by animistic beliefs and bloody rituals of primeval origin. Eventually, he must choose between this unique place and the academic success that lures him to distant cities. More than an autobiography of one boy, this is the universal story of sacred traditions struggling against the encroachment of a modern world.

      A passionate and deeply affecting record, The Dark Child is a classic of African literature.

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