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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Childhood à la Camara Laye & childhood à la Mongo Beti |
Author: | Abanime, E.P. |
Year: | 1998 |
Periodical: | African Literature Today |
Issue: | 21 |
Pages: | 82-90 |
Language: | English |
Geographic terms: | Cameroon Guinea |
Subject: | literature |
About persons: | Mongo Beti (1932-2001) pseud. for Alexandre Biyidi Camara Laye (1928-1980) |
Abstract: | This article focuses on Mongo Beti's last two novels (published in 1982 and 1984) in which the Cameroonian writer deals with the theme of childhood. The novels are compared with the two autobiographical novels by Camara Laye from Guinea, published in 1953 and 1966, which also deal with the theme of childhood. In spite of some resemblance between the novels (in each of the two pairs a black African develops from childhood to the teens, goes to France and returns to his native land) Mongo Beti's realistic way of portraying his protagonist's childhood differs from Camara Laye's idealistic way of portraying his fictional childhood. Mongo Beti, in a critique of Camara Laye's first novel, blames him for closing his eyes to the most crucial realities. However, a closer examination of Beti's treatment of African childhood shows that he, contrary to appearances, also makes use of the idealistic procedures he condemned in Laye's first novel. Bibliogr., notes, ref. |