The Poor Christ of Bomba

Posted on 13 October 2018 by Mongo Beti

In Bomba the girls who are being prepared for Christian marriage live together in the women s camp Gradually it becomes apparent that the local church men have been using the local girls for their own purposes This novel is a biting critique of colonial life and missionary activity. Read The Poor Christ of Bomba By Mongo Beti – kino-fada.fr A book of considerable power and complexity from the pen of Cameroon s greatest modern writer, Mongo Beti 1932 2001 The complexity comes in part from a naive narrator, a young African who is utterly devoted to a French priest and is inclined to view the latter in an idealistic light despite the gradual revelation of the sordid reality the priest has unwittingly facilitated The character of the priest, filtered thro...3.5 starsI didn t get it at first Beti introduces us to a very annoying to say the least European missionary in Africa, who s full of believes and rules and punishments and scary stories, to prevent his black parishioners to go to heaven Moreover, the story is narrated by a 13 years old boy, very keen on catholicism, who follows the Father around the Tala Country during his last pilgrimage from village to village Through his eyes, the Father is a saint Through my eyes, the Father is a colo 3.5 starsI didn t get it at first Beti introduces us to a very annoying to say the least European missionary in Africa, who s full of believes and rules and punishments and scary stories, to prevent his black parishioners to go to heaven Moreover, the story is narrated by a 13 years old boy, very keen on catholicism, who follows the Father around the Tala Country during his last pilgrimage from village to village Through his eyes, the Father is a saint Through my eyes, the Father is a colonialist with no respect whatsoever for the local culture and no willing to get to know it But as you go on reading the characters start to change Slow...Father Drumont is a French priest who was sent as a missionary to Cameroon in the first half of the twentieth century Because he resembles the likeness of Jesus Christ the villagers have seen in pictures, many people at the Bomba mission seem to believe the priest and Christ are one and the same hence, the book s title The Poor Christ of Bomba.Denis is Father Drumont s fourteen year old assistant, sent by his father to live at the mission after his mother dies He is the novel s protagonist, Father Drumont is a French priest who was sent as a missionary to Cameroon in the first half of the twentieth century Because he resembles the likeness of Jesus Christ the villagers have seen in pictures, many people at the Bomba mission seem to believe the priest and Christ are one and the same hence, the book s title The Poor Christ of Bomba.Denis is Father Drumont s fourteen year old assistant, sent by his father to live at the mission after his mother dies ...If you want to be informed about French colonialism in Africa, this is a good book for you If you want a satisfying literary experience, not so much The content is great, the form somewhat lacking.We loved him so littleAs if he were not one of us..for he was not one of us By sally tarbox on 5 March 2018Format PaperbackI m going to give this a 3 for enjoyment and a 4 for literary merit as you read you re very aware that there s a lot for the reader to tease out and debate.Set in 1930s Cameroon, the title character is a French priest working in a mission It s narrated by his innocent and enthusiastic young acolyte, Dennis, who sees the Father as the personification of Jesus C We loved him so littleAs if he were not one of us..for he was not one of us By sally tarbox on 5 March 2018Format PaperbackI m going to give this a 3 for enjoyment and a 4 for literary merit as you read you re very aware that there s a lot for the reader to tease out and debate.Set in 1930s Cameroon, the title character is a French priest working in a mission It s narrated by his innocent and enthusiastic young acolyte, Dennis, who sees the Father as the personification of Jesus Christ A man who has spread faith among us made good Christians every day, often despite ourselves A man full of authority A stern man, A father Jesus Christ Certainly the reader can see parallels like the Gospels, the account is ...Mongo Beti was born in 1932 in Cameroun and received his college education in France, where he ultimately settled He is known for his satire against colonialism in Africa.The Poor Christ of Bomba is narrated by a naive boy serves and adores the Father Superior of a mission in Bomba Both the boy and, eventually, the Father, learn a great deal about what is going on in the shadows, first on a tour the Father takes through the area around the mission and then back home The naive narrator s accou Mongo Beti was born in 1932 in Cameroun and received his college education in France, where he ultimately settled He is known for his satire against colonialism in Africa.The Poor Christ of Bomba is na...Klassisk camerounsk roman fra 1956 om den kristne kirkes og mission rvirksomheds mere eller mindre velvillige meddelagtighed i den europ iske kolonialisme i Vestafrika Interessant allerede i kraft af sin status som vestafrikansk klassiker Den er s dan set ogs velskrevet og oversat til flydende engelsk af Gerald Moore N r alt det er sagt, s er den ogs lidt til den tunge side, ikke ligefrem en page turner Jeg skulle mere end 100 sider ind i romanen, f r jeg syntes, at den kom rigtigt i gang Klassisk camerounsk roman fra 1956 om den kristne kirkes og mission rvirksomheds mere eller mindre velvillige meddelagtighed i den ...Neutral reaction to this novel, neither engrossing nor without appeal The narrative flows well enough, and the plot keeps the reader interested in how matters unfold, although hardly engrossing or distinctive in voice The narrator, Denis, describes the disintegration of an African mission as a tour by the veteran priest of the neighboring villages leads to his disillusionment and indirectly to revelations that convince him of the futility of imposing European culture on Africans and his own co Neutral reaction to this novel, neither engrossing nor without appeal The narrative flows well enough, and the plot keeps the reader interested in how matters unfold, although hardly engrossing or distinctive in voice The narrator, Denis, describes the disintegration of an African mission as a tour by the veteran priest of the neighboring villages leads to his disillusionment and indirectly to revelations that convince him of the futility of imposing European culture on Africans and his own complicity in disastrous colonialism Although he becomes involveddirectly in events at one point in the novel, Denis is genrally a naive ...I found this book to be very interesting in giving some idea of interactions between white missionaries and black Africans It s the kind of book that doesn t just give you everything you want to know up front, but is like a curtain that opens slowly only gradually revealing the true nature of things as they are Initially we are forced to take the author s point of view in all things and act imagine that Father Drumont is almost a living god and dislike the machinations of Zacharia, but as time I found this book to be very interesting in giving some idea of interactions between white missionaries and black Africans It s the kind of book that doesn t just give you everything you want to know up front, but is like a curtain that opens slowly only gradually revealing the true nature of things as they are Initially we are forced to take the author s point of view in all things and act imagine that Father Drumont is almost a living god and dislike the machinations of Zacharia, but as time goes on we begin to see Father Drumont s shortsightedness, Zacharia s droll wit and understanding of the true nature of things, and the author s own naivete We are led to see the result of Father Drumont s misguided policies, though well intentioned they may have been The kicker is at the end Drumont doesn t really try to do anything to remedy the situation but goes on his merry way leading a reader to question his dedication to the Africans in the first place, while the colonial...In a familiar image of African writers in 1950s and 60s, the main character is a young innocent boy like Ngugi s Njoroge in Weep Not Child and Oyono s Toundi in Houseboy The boy has grown up as a leading servant to Father Superior Drumont of the Catholic Mission of Bomba.Through a tour of bush churches with the father, he learns of misuse of the girls at the sixta by their supposed teachers and handlers the indiscretions of other Africans serving the Father the contradiction the Father In a...

13 October 2018

Mongo Beti