“My mind ran off as soon as I opened my eyes. I have always had a vagabond mind.”
Current installment of Tommi Reads the World – this marks the last of the Bs.
Country: Burkina Faso
Title: So Distant from My Life
Author: Monique Ilboudo
Language: French
Translator: Yarri Kamara
Publisher: Le Serpent á Plumes, 2018 English translation published by Tilted Axis Press 2022
Coming in at only 123 pages, So Distant from My Life is certainly one of the shortest of the Tommi Reads the World selections to date. But make no mistake – it packs quite the punch. Set in Ouabany, a fictional city in West Africa and France, the novel centers around migration and sexual orientation – the resounding cry is one of the right to choose not only where one lives, but how they live.
Jeanphi’s life is derailed as a teen when his close friend is killed in a bike accident. Jeanphi has a bit of survivor’s guilt as he was supposed to be on that bike with his friend but had refused at the last moment. He spirals into drugs and homelessness for several years before his mother finally convinces him to come home and gets him in treatment. He’s too old to return to school, and he flounders a bit as he tries to find his way. He finds some success as a letter writer until a cyber café with secretarial offerings opens. Once again, despair threatens to find him. He sees himself as an embarrassment to his family, especially his father. His repeated attempts to migrate to another country have been thwarted.
A chance meeting with an older French man opens new doors for him. He becomes accustomed to the life of luxury Elgep provides, but upon learning Elgep is a homosexual, Jeanphi feels backed into a corner. Is he gay or is he willing to do anything to escape to France? After some hesitation, Jeanphil agrees to join Elgep. In France, Jeanphil begins to reconcile his identity, but he still struggles with how his father handled the news. He eventually marries Elgep, resigning himself to the commitment because it wouldn’t really change anything for him. But it does.
After his father’s death, Jeanphil elects to return home, to Ouabany. The novel wraps up in a bruised and broken tragedy.
Slim and unassuming, So Distant from My Life is a powerful novel. If you can get your hands on it, it’s certainly worth the read.
A Girl Named Tommi 