The Death of Comrade President

"In Pointe-Noire, in the small neighbourhood of Voungou, on the family plot where young Michel lives with Maman Pauline and Papa Roger, life goes on. But Michel's everyday cares - lost grocery money, the whims of his parents' moods, their neighbours' squabbling, his endless daydreaming - are soon swept away by the wind of history. In March 1977, just before the arrival of the short rainy season, Comrade President Marien Ngouabi is brutally murdered in Brazzaville, and not even naive Michel can remain untouched. If he is to protect his family, Michel must learn to lie. Starting as a tender, wry portrait of an ordinary Congolese family, Alain Mabanckou quickly expands the scope of his story into a powerful examination of colonialism, decolonization and dead ends of the African continent. Moving seamlessly between the small-scale worries of everyday life and the grand tragedy of postcolonial politics, he explores the nuances of the human soul through the naive perspective of a boy who, at a stroke, learns the realities of life - and how much must change for everything to stay the same."--Provided by publisher.