Current installment of Tommi Reads the World – we’re still in the C’s!!!
Country: Central African Republic
Title: Co-Wives, Co-Widows
Author: Adrienne Yabouza
Language: French
Translator: Rachael McGill
Publisher: First published in Mali, 2015; Dedalus, 2021
Co-Wives, Co-Widows is the first book from the Central African Republic to be translated into English. The self-educated Yabouza fled the country in 2013, seeking political asylum in France. She writes in Sango, Yakoma, Lingala, and French. Co-Wives, Co-Widows is her second book to be published in French.
As for the novella itself, it is a biting little delight. A quick read at 124 pages, the novel is the story of Ndongo Passy and Grekpoubou, Lidou’s two wives. When the story opens, the two women are going to vote. Lidou, comfortable with how things are (he’s doing well for himself, has two beautiful wives and several children) isn’t sure he is going to exercise his right. The only thing Lidou isn’t happy with is that he is having some issues in the bedroom. He begins taking some traditional concoction along with Cialis. When he dies, the reader is the only one who knows why.
With his death, Ndongo Passy and Grekpoubou find themselves with an uncertain future. Lidou’s greedy relatives seek to kick them out of their home and take any and all inheritance for themselves. Police are called. Attorneys are involved. What follows is a scathing but at times comical take on domestic lives, bribery, and political corruptness. (And you’ll just love Ndongo!)
Read this book!
A Girl Named Tommi 