Shadows of Your Black Memory

Posted on 14 November 2018 by Donato Ndongo

Set during the last years of Spanish rule in Equatorial Guinea, Shadows of Your Black Memory presents the voice of a young African man reflecting on his childhood Through the idealistic eyes of the nameless protagonist, Donato Ndongo portrays the cultural conflicts between Africa and Spain, ancestral worship competing with Catholicism, and tradition giving way to modernity The backdrop of a nation moving toward a troubled independence parallels the young man s internal struggle to define his own identity.In this bildungsroman, Donato Ndongo masterfully exposes the cultural fissures of his native land Spanish Guinea is a heated, sensual landscape with exotic animals and trees, ancient rituals, ghosts, saints, and sinners We come to know the narrator s extended family, the people of his village, merchants, sorcerers, and Catholic priests we see them critically at times, even humorously, yet always with compassion and a magical dignity Michael Ugarte s sensitive translation captures the spirit of the original Spanish prose and makes Ndongo s powerful, gripping tale available to English speaking readers for the first time. Download Shadows of Your Black Memory author Donato Ndongo – kino-fada.fr As part of my ongoing quest to read a book from every country, I picked up Shadows of your Black Memory as a book from Equatorial Guinea It is a childhood coming of age novel that sets up the conflict between traditional and western cultures particularly in this case between traditional religion and Catholicism.Which, at this point in the exercise, is not a description that fills me with excitement because nearly all the literature of the post colonial world seems to be about the conflict bet As part of my ongoing quest to read a book from every country, I picked up Shadows of your Black Memory as a book from Equatorial Guinea It is a childhood coming of age novel that sets up the conflict between traditional and western cultures particularly in this case between traditional religion and Catholicism.Which, at this point in the exercise, is not a description that fills me with excitement because nearly all the literature of the post colonial world seems to be about the conflict between tradition and western culture and or modernity Certainly the stuff which makes it into English translation And it s also pretty common to tell it as the story of a young ...This is a coming of age narrative from Equatorial Guinea The narrator is in Europe when the story begins, and has just decided not to become a priest, but to go to law school He then goes back to his earliest memories and narrates his growing up, up to the time he leaves Africa for Europe to study for the priesthood The story is generally well told I think it just seemed a little too familiar to me So many versions of this story have come out over the years, that this seemed a well worn p...A moving, very personal story of a boy coming of age in sub Saharan Africa s only Spanish speaking country The forces of colonialism, resistance, traditionalist Catholicism, and indigenous beliefs collide within the author s family and in the wider context of Equatorial Guinea Thi...Equatorial Guinea Summer is a good time to temper emotions and regain strength Yes, this is an afternoon to remember Since leaving the seminary, I tremble each time I receive a letter from my father My mother and father are deeply disappointed I wrote a long and thoughtful letter explaining my decision They don t understand it There s a lot of witchcraft around here, black witchcraft, it only causes death, white people also have their witchcraft but they perform in the light of day, it Equatorial Guinea Summer is a good time to temper emotions and regain strength Yes, this is an afternoon to remember Since leaving the seminary, I t...I really had a hard time with the way this book was written There were sentences that ran on for pages, paragraphs that ran on for entire chapters, no quotation marks and virtually no plot all of these characteristics make for very difficult and frustrating reading on my part However, I can see why the author chose to write in this way and I don t think he was just showing off, and the book was short enough that I could bear it.The story is of a young boy growing up in Equatorial Guinea, th I really had a hard time with the way this book was written There were sentences that ran on for pages, paragraphs that ran on for entire chapters, no quotation marks and virtually no plot all of these characteristics make for very difficult and frustrating reading on my part However, I can see why the author chose to write in this way and I don t think he was just showing off, and the book was short enough that I could bear it.The story is of a young boy growing up in Equatorial Guinea, the only Spanish speaking colony in sub Saharan Africa It wasn t until I d nearly finished the book that I realized the protagonist, I believe, has no name He isof an observer than an actor in the story He s torn between the colonial...The author was born in Equatorial Guinea and tells the story of his life and education, interspersed with various philosophical and religious musings It is a mixture of his memories and his later interpretations, with the usual co...

English
14 November 2018

Donato Ndongo