Paperback / softback | |
January 8, 2018 | |
9780253031907 | |
English | |
French | |
214 | |
9.00 Inches (US) | |
6.00 Inches (US) | |
$20.00 USD, £16.00 GBP | |
v2.1 Reference | |
Congo Inc.
Bismarck's Testament
To the sound of machine gun fire and the smell of burning flesh, award-winning author In Koli Jean Bofane leads readers on a perilous, satirical journey through the civil conflict and political instability that have been the logical outcome of generations of rapacious multinational corporate activity, corrupt governance, widespread civil conflict, human rights abuses, and environmental degradation in Africa. Isookanga, a Congolese Pygmy, grows up in a small village with big dreams of becoming rich. His vision of the world is shaped by his exploits in Raging Trade, an online game where he seizes control of the world's natural resources by any means possible: high-tech weaponry, slavery, and even genocide. Isookanga leaves his sleepy village to make his fortune in the pulsating capital Kinshasa, where he joins forces with street children, warlords, and a Chinese victim of globalization in this blistering novel about capitalism, colonialism, and the world haunted by the ghosts of Bismarck and Leopold II. Told with just enough levity to make it truly heartbreaking, Congo Inc. is a searing tale about ecological, political, and economic failure.
About the Authors
In Koli Jean Bofane was born in 1954 in the northern region of what is today the Democratic Republic of Congo and currently resides in Belgium. His novels have received numerous awards, including the Grand Prix littéraire de l'Afrique noire, the Grand Prix du Roman Métis, and the Prix des Cinq continents de la Francophonie.
Marjolijn de Jager is a trilingual (Dutch, English, French), award-winning translator of works by Werewere Liking, Tahar Djaout, Ken Bugul, and Camille Laurens. She also translated Gilbert Gatoré's The Past Ahead for the Global African Voices series.
Marjolijn de Jager is a trilingual (Dutch, English, French), award-winning translator of works by Werewere Liking, Tahar Djaout, Ken Bugul, and Camille Laurens. She also translated Gilbert Gatoré's The Past Ahead for the Global African Voices series.
Reviews
"A lucid storyline, infused with black humor, nourished with insights, violence, and disenchantment. In Koli Jean Bofane is ruthless."—Elise Lepine, Transfuge
"Overflowing with irony, this picaresque novel is not all that far-fetched given the reality in a country that has been at the heart of planetary competition as far back as the ear of Bismarck."—Valerie Marin la Meslee, Le Point
"A nightmare tainted with humor."—Yves le Gall, Matricule des Anges
"Humor and horror rival for space on the pages of this novel, which shows why literature and not economics is best-equipped to speak of today's world."—Francois Busnel, Lire
"This scalding indictment of Western interference in Africa should give proponents of pell-mell progress pause."—Publishers Weekly
"An impressive work of the heart of contemporary Africa, and an excellent introduction to the vast country, culture, and history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo."—The Complete Review
"Satirical in a way that magnifies the pain, In Koli Jean Bofane's writing is scathing and powerful."—Notas Benes, World Literature Today
"Grounded in the lived experience of dynamic characters, this novel mines the multifaceted effects of postcolonialism and globalization on individuals, attesting to the many forms of violence at work in many African countries."—Michelle Bumatay, Beloit College
"Overflowing with irony, this picaresque novel is not all that far-fetched given the reality in a country that has been at the heart of planetary competition as far back as the ear of Bismarck."—Valerie Marin la Meslee, Le Point
"A nightmare tainted with humor."—Yves le Gall, Matricule des Anges
"Humor and horror rival for space on the pages of this novel, which shows why literature and not economics is best-equipped to speak of today's world."—Francois Busnel, Lire
"This scalding indictment of Western interference in Africa should give proponents of pell-mell progress pause."—Publishers Weekly
"An impressive work of the heart of contemporary Africa, and an excellent introduction to the vast country, culture, and history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo."—The Complete Review
"Satirical in a way that magnifies the pain, In Koli Jean Bofane's writing is scathing and powerful."—Notas Benes, World Literature Today
"Grounded in the lived experience of dynamic characters, this novel mines the multifaceted effects of postcolonialism and globalization on individuals, attesting to the many forms of violence at work in many African countries."—Michelle Bumatay, Beloit College
Indiana University Press | |
Global African Voices | |
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Paperback / softback | |
January 8, 2018 | |
9780253031907 | |
English | |
French | |
214 | |
9.00 Inches (US) | |
6.00 Inches (US) | |
$20.00 USD, £16.00 GBP | |
v2.1 Reference | |
Other Titles by In Koli Jean Bofane
Casablanca Story
In Koli Jean Bofane, translated by Bill Johnston
May 2022
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$25.00 USD
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Other Titles from Global African Voices
The Empire of Illusion
Aminata Sow Fall, translated by Meg Furniss Weisberg
Aug 2023
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Commander of the River
Ubah Cristina Ali Farah, translated by Hope Campbell Gustafson
Apr 2023
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$26.00 USD
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39 Berne Street
Max Lobe, translated by Johanna McCalmont
Mar 2023
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$20.00 USD
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Other Titles in FICTION / General
At The Breakers
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Apr 2022
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$24.95 USD
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$24.95 USD
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$19.95 USD
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The Words of My Roaring
Robert Kroetsch, introduction by Thomas Wharton
Jan 2022
- University of Alberta Press
$18.99 USD
- Paperback / softback
A Romance of the Republic
Lydia Maria Child, edited by Dana D. Nelson
Dec 2021
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$35.00 USD
- Paperback / softback
$35.00 USD
- Electronic book text