Abstract: | A voluntary exile from Cameroon, her native land, Calixthe Beyala has chosen France as her space of enunciation. This movement from former colony to former colonial power raises the question of the identity of home for Beyala. On the one hand, can the country that has colonized your native land be called home? On the other, can the homeland that failed to perform its nurturing function and that you have left in search of more hospitable places still be called home? The author's displacement has resulted in an ambiguity and ambivalence towards the idea of home that she has expressed directly or indirectly in her interviews, essays, and above all in her fiction. This paper offers preliminary responses to the question of home for Beyala by examining her representation of Africa and Europe in 'C'est le soleil qui m'a brûlée' (1987), 'Tu t'appelleras Tanga' (1988), 'Le petit prince de Belleville' (1992), and 'Maman a un amant' (1993). Bibliogr. [ASC Leiden abstract] |