Little Boys Come from the Stars

Posted on 12 March 2017 by Emmanuel Dongala

Sardonic, subtle, and sweetly scathing, Little Boys Come from the Stars is satire at its best.Set in an unnamed country in equatorial Africa, it tells the story of Michel, a precocious teen dubbed Matapari trouble because of his extraordinary birth Though his father is a reclusive scholar, his mother a pious though confused Catholic, and his uncle a shameless opportunist determined to gain power in the shifting politics of their post colonial nation, Matapari remains an unsullied child who wears Reeboks, drinks Coke, reads Japanese comics, and watches Rambo But when his family becomes the nucleus of the revolution for democracy, Matapari proves to be the ideal narrator for this story of violent upheaval and bloody corruption a voice whose ironic innocence makes bearable and even humorous the awful realities of the world it describes. Read Little Boys Come from the Stars – kino-fada.fr This is the story of a kid who was almost never born, as he himself expresses at the very opening of the book He was born a whole day after his twin brothers, something that had never happened in the Congolese village the kid was from, and due to the inexplicable connotation this event had on his people, he was dubbed Matapari trouble.The day he was born, on the 20th anniversary of Congo s independence from France, an amalgam of witnesses was present the most famous midwife of the region, hi This is the story of a kid who was almost never born, as he himself expresses at the very opening of the book He was born a whole day after his twin brothers, something that had never happened in the Congolese village the kid was from, and due to the inexplicable connotation this event had on his people, he was dubbed Matapari trouble.The day he was born, on the 20th anniversary of Congo s independence from France, an amalgam of witnesses was present the most famous midwife of the region, his uncle a cunning and unscrupulous politician in the making , a Muslim who was the richest merchant of the region and slipped a verse of the Koran in Matapari s left hand that day, a catholic priest who sprinkled Matapari with holy water, and the Chief of Police representing the President of the Republic Add to these congruence two American motorcycles, a roman bicycle, bodyguards, and a one shot salute, and you get the undertone tha...I think I would have liked thishad I not read Cutting for Stone before it I think it s a pertinant book to read, and an interesting read, just not not well presented Part of this could be due to translation11 20 09I just started this short funny read about the third triplet in a modernized Congo Dongala has juxtaposed Colonialist pre developed rule with current technologies in a way that is sad and satirical The first two chapters are full of satire poking fun at some of our favorite victims, religion, medicine, the power of NAMING as a means to Other or control, law and order, and parenting Alliyah finished it in a day or two and recommended it for perhaps a handful of other scholars, though d 11 20 09I just started this short funny read about the third triplet in a modernized Congo Dongala has juxtaposed Colonialist pre developed rule with current technologies in a way that is sad and satirical The first two chapters are full of satire poking fun at some of our favorite victims, religion, medicine, the power of NAMING as a means to Other or control, law and order, and parenting Alliyah finished it in a day or two and recommended it for perhaps a handful of other scholars, though don t be surprised if you see chapters for intros to Satire which go perfectly with my favorite, The Gods Must Be Crazy Little Boys Come ...This poignant story of a young man who thought he might should not have been born is a revealing novel of an unnamed country in Africa This country is the epitome of the colonization of most African countries that have been robbed and raped of their resources Crooked politics reign while speakers a...I think I am too stupid to read books like this I had to look up a word, every 5 sentences Why do smart African writers, feel the need to show off their high end vocab skills Anyway, plot was great, just wished I knew .This is set in the Republic of the Congo former French Congo , not the Democratic Republic of the Congo former Belgian Congo and formerly Zaire Dongala does not help the confusion by mentioning Patrice Lumumba and Mobutu, but none of his own leaders by name.It is the story of a corrupt and repressive regime as seen through the eyes of a young boy He starts off believing everything he is told, but starts to question thingsas he gets older.It is also the story of his family and village This is set in the Republic of the Congo former French Congo , not the Democratic Republic of the Congo former Belgian Congo and formerly Zaire Dongala does not help the confusion by mentioning Patrice Lumumba and Mobutu, but none of his own leaders by name.It is the story...It s been a while since I read this book, and I ve been meaning to write a few folks about it for some time now so please forgive any omission of detail I really enjoyed reading this piece I rarely read fiction, so it s possible this book was a draw to me because of the political, cultural, and interpersonal depth it offerred plus, it was a gift It is basically a story of an unnamed African country s experience of political upheaval, told from the perspective of a young boy It s fascina It s been a while since I read this book, and I ve been meaning to write a few folks about it for some time now so please forgive any omission of detail I really enjoyed reading this piece I rarely read fiction, so it s possible this book was a draw to me because of the political, cultural, and interpersonal depth it offerred plus, it was a gift It is basically a story of an unnamed African country s experience of political upheaval, told from the perspective of a young boy It s fascinating to read about another culture or,likely, melding of cultures so far from my own not to mention narration based on a very different maturity level and consciousness In thinking back on this novel, I am reminded a little of images from the film _The Last King of Scotland_ I definitely think this is worth the read if you want something semi light insofar as probably being distant from your own daily life and about a little boy s experience of life but very rich with an important dose of political reality th...This was a gem of a book The narrator is a 15 year old boy living in Africa He is one of triplets but because he was unexpectedly born a day after his other two brothers, his mother thinks of him as a curse on the family and treats him as such Fortunately, the boy has a supportive, intellectual father who treats him as a kindred spirit, sharing his knowledge and theories with him The best part of the book is its sense of humor The author pokes continual fun at the political system in Africa This was a gem of a book The narrator is a 15 year old boy living in Africa He is one of triplets but because he was unexpectedly born a day after his other two brothers, his mother thinks of him as a curse on the family and treats him as such Fortunately, the boy has a supportive, intellectual father who treats him as a kindred spirit, sharing his knowledge and theories with him...Matapari le dit, il n aurait m me pas d na tre C est que, dernier n de tripl s, il ne quitta le ventre de sa m re que deux jours apr s ses fr res, peut tre par discr tion, ou par prudence De cette naissance, il con ut un don de curiosit insatiable pour le monde Et ce qu il voyait autour de lui, avec les yeux de l innocence, tait parfois trange, comme ces men es de tonton Boula Boula avec la femme du vieux Bidi ou autre flirt du m me avec les hautes sph res politiques du pays Par c Matapari le dit, il n aurait m me pas d na tre C est que, dernier n de tripl s, il ne quitta le ventre de sa m re que deux jours apr s ses fr res, peut tre par discr tion,...

English
12 March 2017

Emmanuel Dongala