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In the United States of Africa
In a literary reversal as deadly serious as it is wickedly satiric, this novel by the acclaimed French-speaking African writer Abdourahman A. Waberi turns the fortunes of the world upside down. On this reimagined globe a stream of sorry humanity flows from the West, from the slums of America and the squalor of Europe, to escape poverty and desperation in the prosperous United States of Africa. It is in this world that an African doctor on a humanitarian mission to Franceadopts a child. Now a young artist, this girl, Malaïka, travels to the troubled land of her birth in hope of finding her mother—and perhaps something of her lost self. Her search, at times funny and strange, is also deeply poignant, reminding us at every moment of the turns of fate we call truth.
134 pages, Paperback
First published January 4, 2006
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About the author
Abdourahman A. Waberi
33books17followersAbdourahman Waberi nació en la ciudad de Yibuti en la costa somalí francesa, actual República de Yibuti. Se fue a Francia en 1985 para estudiar literatura inglesa. Trabajó como consultor literario para Editions Le Serpent à plumes, París, y como crítico literario para Le Monde Diplomatique. Ha sido miembro del jurado internacional del Premio Lettre Ulysses para el Art of Reportage (Arte del Reportaje) en Berlín, Alemania (2003 y 2004).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
September 15, 2010
Concept: 5 stars.
Execution: 1 star.
The idea is pretty straightforward: set a novel in a parallel reality where the Global South and North are flipped, where Americans and Japanese and Western Europeans rely on handouts from Haitians and Ethiopians and Vietnamese for subsistence. Great lens through which to examine racism and xenophobia.
Not quite a novel, not quite a collection of essays; the book is loosely arranged around the life of Malaika / Maya, a white woman adopted as a child by a wealthy African doctor and his wife who live in the capital. There's a lot of potential here, but the book reads like Waberi got the idea for this novel, wrote out a list of 40 or so (really good, insightful, sometimes witty) points he'd like to make in the book, and then the follow-through just kind of collapsed. It seems like he tackled the ideas individually; turning each into a chapter anywhere from a paragraph to 10 pages long, and didn't bother to tie most of them together or even flesh out the individual chapters. The choppy style is grating: as soon as you start to appreciate the topic (fetishization of the exotic white woman in fashion, or Maya's sense of displacement when she interacts with poor white refugees in the capital, or leftist students volunteering in war-torn Ontario) it's over, and not just over but dropped for good. The voice of the book is confusingly inconsistent: the narrator talks to Maya in the second person, serves as a third-person omniscient for much of the book, and is replaced unexpectedly by newspaper reviews or the crumpled poetic manifesto found on a dead refugee's body.
I honestly feel like I got more out of hearing that this book existed than I did out of reading it. I did have a great Being Confronted With Your Privilege in 90 Seconds Or Less moment when I found myself debating whether or not to shelve this under dystopia. But again, that's the concept at work, not the execution.
Execution: 1 star.
The idea is pretty straightforward: set a novel in a parallel reality where the Global South and North are flipped, where Americans and Japanese and Western Europeans rely on handouts from Haitians and Ethiopians and Vietnamese for subsistence. Great lens through which to examine racism and xenophobia.
Not quite a novel, not quite a collection of essays; the book is loosely arranged around the life of Malaika / Maya, a white woman adopted as a child by a wealthy African doctor and his wife who live in the capital. There's a lot of potential here, but the book reads like Waberi got the idea for this novel, wrote out a list of 40 or so (really good, insightful, sometimes witty) points he'd like to make in the book, and then the follow-through just kind of collapsed. It seems like he tackled the ideas individually; turning each into a chapter anywhere from a paragraph to 10 pages long, and didn't bother to tie most of them together or even flesh out the individual chapters. The choppy style is grating: as soon as you start to appreciate the topic (fetishization of the exotic white woman in fashion, or Maya's sense of displacement when she interacts with poor white refugees in the capital, or leftist students volunteering in war-torn Ontario) it's over, and not just over but dropped for good. The voice of the book is confusingly inconsistent: the narrator talks to Maya in the second person, serves as a third-person omniscient for much of the book, and is replaced unexpectedly by newspaper reviews or the crumpled poetic manifesto found on a dead refugee's body.
I honestly feel like I got more out of hearing that this book existed than I did out of reading it. I did have a great Being Confronted With Your Privilege in 90 Seconds Or Less moment when I found myself debating whether or not to shelve this under dystopia. But again, that's the concept at work, not the execution.
March 17, 2015
I love this book and I feel it's somehow not making it's way to the readers who would appreciate it - which is a shame. When I ordered it based on the synopsis, I was expecting something like a cross between Tale of Two Cities and Les Miserables. I was excited to see how an African author would imagine an African utopia and how his destitute Europe would accord with the one we know from history.
It was quickly brought home to me that wasn't what I would be getting. If I can drop a few names: Jeanette Winterson, Italo Calvino, ... if you like that rather post-modern, poetic, not too long kind of stuff, full of cultural allusion and games with texts you may well like this. The 'west'/Africa reversal isn't meant to feel natural, neither are the characters and their actions. I enjoy reading that kind of literature so it got five stars from me.
As examples: one of the nice things about the book is the endless stream of allusions to figures from African or African Diaspora history and culture(with token white people),though not everyone is in their original role. Several African-American literati seem to have become DJs, for example!?! But if he's missing, say, an African first man on the moon, he just makes one up. He takes bits of the Western discourse on Africa and cheerfully copies it over to his imaginary Africa without worrying too much about making it look seamless. It felt a bit like watching a puppet show (stylised, funny, with much use of found materials) in which the puppet master himself plays a prominent and quite humorous role. It's a feeling intensified by the fact that the book is not so much written in the second person as it consists of the author-narrator addressing his heroine in the imperative.
The other thing I think worth knowing with regard to the translation is that his 'west'-transposed-to-Africa is very French. As a representation of France, French discourse on Africa, French peoples' views of themselves, even down to the circumstances of Malaika's life (the central character), it's a fair and reasonably accurate portrayal. English-speakers in Britain and the US will be more justified in not recognizing themselves or their cultures - which complicates the reversal.
It was quickly brought home to me that wasn't what I would be getting. If I can drop a few names: Jeanette Winterson, Italo Calvino, ... if you like that rather post-modern, poetic, not too long kind of stuff, full of cultural allusion and games with texts you may well like this. The 'west'/Africa reversal isn't meant to feel natural, neither are the characters and their actions. I enjoy reading that kind of literature so it got five stars from me.
As examples: one of the nice things about the book is the endless stream of allusions to figures from African or African Diaspora history and culture(with token white people),though not everyone is in their original role. Several African-American literati seem to have become DJs, for example!?! But if he's missing, say, an African first man on the moon, he just makes one up. He takes bits of the Western discourse on Africa and cheerfully copies it over to his imaginary Africa without worrying too much about making it look seamless. It felt a bit like watching a puppet show (stylised, funny, with much use of found materials) in which the puppet master himself plays a prominent and quite humorous role. It's a feeling intensified by the fact that the book is not so much written in the second person as it consists of the author-narrator addressing his heroine in the imperative.
The other thing I think worth knowing with regard to the translation is that his 'west'-transposed-to-Africa is very French. As a representation of France, French discourse on Africa, French peoples' views of themselves, even down to the circumstances of Malaika's life (the central character), it's a fair and reasonably accurate portrayal. English-speakers in Britain and the US will be more justified in not recognizing themselves or their cultures - which complicates the reversal.
November 3, 2018
Great concept, very poorly executed. If you can find just the first chapter do read it but the rest is very choppy and disconnected.
August 4, 2016
Whilst the concept behind this book seemed very interesting - Africa as the developed world versus the underdeveloped northern nations.
Sadly it turned out to be a disappointing read. I found the style of writing difficult to follow as it is a collection of satirical tales rather than a specific story.
Sadly it turned out to be a disappointing read. I found the style of writing difficult to follow as it is a collection of satirical tales rather than a specific story.
June 23, 2013
Really liked the idea of this, but the writing style was hard to get into.
May 4, 2024
j'ai tellement pas aimé, j'y trouve pas spécialement d'intérêt et il n'y a aucun fil conducteur mais #nohate
October 2, 2022
I have read plenty books that I personally didn't like, was not interested in what it was doing, that I thought executed poorly, full of missed opportunities and taking a direction I didn't care for. But I don't think I every read a book that I would consider unreadable. Completely, utterly unreadable. I attempted this for the first time back in February and made it 32 pages, now I gave it another go thinking maybe my brain can take it on a second try, and I made to 68 pages before the towels flew. Seriously, all the towels.
The concept sounds so great tough, "In the United States of Africa" we flip the world order and the so called third world countries and specifically the nations in Africa are the modern leaders of the world and Europe and North America are struggling nations. If this book had a plot it could have been one of the most fascinating thought experiments in fiction out there, but it doesn't. And I don't mean it is light on plot: there is no plot. It is also not character driven because there aren't really any characters either. What you get is 40 chapters (mostly between 1-5 pages) that each look at a different issue connected to the bigger picture, a bit essay like if you will. I described these chapters to my husband to read like pamphlets where each one informs about a different aspect of this alternate world's situation. The goal here is to satirize how the West views Africa, how it feels it needs to save them (after ignoring how Western interference and past colonization ignited many of the problems) while also clearly looks down on African lifestyles. The writing is dense at times and inanely repetitive. The narrator often addresses a young white girl that was adopted by rich black Africans and according to the synopsis she contemplates her position in this world but I'm not convinced the plot of the story really does that. As there is no plot, the connection between each chapter hardly exists and I at least was not able to properly follow her story.
I would say if this was a 20 page story it could have worked better. I mean there is a moment where the narrator describes us the disastrous state of Switzerland in this world, where tribes live in unhospitable mountainous areas and wonders who would ever settle there and the problems all the different languages spoken throughout the country cause. That is a powerful image, that in the real world Switzerland is one of the richest countries and we would never judge it in this way but do exactly that with so many African regions instead of viewing their natural wonders and language diversity as an advantage. But this book just trudges on with moments like this. Giving you endless example after endless example. There is no story, no string of events to follow. And for me that made it impossible to make it through. I did not enjoy the reading experience, nor did much of what I read stick with me: it turned into just reading words on a page that without the connecting rope structure of an actual narrative my brain could not absorb. Such a shame.
The concept sounds so great tough, "In the United States of Africa" we flip the world order and the so called third world countries and specifically the nations in Africa are the modern leaders of the world and Europe and North America are struggling nations. If this book had a plot it could have been one of the most fascinating thought experiments in fiction out there, but it doesn't. And I don't mean it is light on plot: there is no plot. It is also not character driven because there aren't really any characters either. What you get is 40 chapters (mostly between 1-5 pages) that each look at a different issue connected to the bigger picture, a bit essay like if you will. I described these chapters to my husband to read like pamphlets where each one informs about a different aspect of this alternate world's situation. The goal here is to satirize how the West views Africa, how it feels it needs to save them (after ignoring how Western interference and past colonization ignited many of the problems) while also clearly looks down on African lifestyles. The writing is dense at times and inanely repetitive. The narrator often addresses a young white girl that was adopted by rich black Africans and according to the synopsis she contemplates her position in this world but I'm not convinced the plot of the story really does that. As there is no plot, the connection between each chapter hardly exists and I at least was not able to properly follow her story.
I would say if this was a 20 page story it could have worked better. I mean there is a moment where the narrator describes us the disastrous state of Switzerland in this world, where tribes live in unhospitable mountainous areas and wonders who would ever settle there and the problems all the different languages spoken throughout the country cause. That is a powerful image, that in the real world Switzerland is one of the richest countries and we would never judge it in this way but do exactly that with so many African regions instead of viewing their natural wonders and language diversity as an advantage. But this book just trudges on with moments like this. Giving you endless example after endless example. There is no story, no string of events to follow. And for me that made it impossible to make it through. I did not enjoy the reading experience, nor did much of what I read stick with me: it turned into just reading words on a page that without the connecting rope structure of an actual narrative my brain could not absorb. Such a shame.
July 15, 2012
Zunächst mal einige Worte zum Aufbau: Das Buch gliedert sich in 4 Abschnitte, die jeweils nochmal in (meist recht kurze) Kapitel unterteilt sind. Diese Kapitel beginnen immer mit einer kurzen Zusammenfassung des folgenden Inhalts.
In dem Buch werden verschiedene Personen erwähnt, die einzige, die man jedoch wirklich näher kennen lernt, ist Maya. Sie wurde in Frankreich geboren, nach 4 Jahren adoptiert und wuchs somit in Afrika (also im Wohlstand) auf. Es ist kaum verwunderlich, dass ihr das auf Grund ihrer Hautfarbe schwer fiel. Viel mehr möchte ich hier aber über die Handlung nicht verraten, da die Handlung sowieso recht rar gesät ist. Stattdessen erhält man durch eine sehr bildliche, poetische Sprache in verschiedenen Gedankenausschweifungen und über Details aus Mayas Leben einen Einblick in die Gesellschaft und das Weltbild. Natürlich geht es hier insbesondere um die Unterschiede zwischen Afrika und Europa ("Afrikanisierung" ist im Buch das passende Wort). Wenn man das Buch liest, wird einem als (Mittel)Europäer mal wieder klar wie gut wir es eigentlich haben - und wie anders alles sein könnte, wenn wir in einem anderen Land geboren worden wären oder die Geschichte einfach einen anderen Lauf genommen hätte.
Ein wenig gewöhnungsbedürftig fand ich, dass der Erzähler Maya immer mit "Du" anspricht. Aber das ist wahrscheinlich sicher sehr subjektiv. Ansonsten gibt es in dem Buch viele Wortwitze bzw. Namensabwandlungen, sowohl im Bezug auf berühmte Persönlichkeiten als auch auf Kunst, Kultur oder Industrie. Nur um mal ein paar Beispiele zu nennen: PapeSy und AfroCola, McDioula und Sarr Mbock oder das "weltberühmte[n] Lächeln der Mouna Sylla". Teilweise gerät man bei diesen Abwandlungen wirklich ins Grübeln, wer oder was denn nun gemeint ist.
Bisher klingt das ja soweit alles recht positiv, aber ich komme nicht umhin zu sagen, dass sich das Buch nicht gerade leicht liest. Es gibt viele Sprünge in der Handlung, es ist (meiner Meinung nach) eine ungewohnte Erzählweise und man würde eine ausgereifte Sachkenntnis über Afrika benötigen, um viele Anspielungen zu verstehen.
Nichtdestotrotz bereue ich es nicht das Buch gelesen zu haben, die Grundidee des Buches ist es wert.
In dem Buch werden verschiedene Personen erwähnt, die einzige, die man jedoch wirklich näher kennen lernt, ist Maya. Sie wurde in Frankreich geboren, nach 4 Jahren adoptiert und wuchs somit in Afrika (also im Wohlstand) auf. Es ist kaum verwunderlich, dass ihr das auf Grund ihrer Hautfarbe schwer fiel. Viel mehr möchte ich hier aber über die Handlung nicht verraten, da die Handlung sowieso recht rar gesät ist. Stattdessen erhält man durch eine sehr bildliche, poetische Sprache in verschiedenen Gedankenausschweifungen und über Details aus Mayas Leben einen Einblick in die Gesellschaft und das Weltbild. Natürlich geht es hier insbesondere um die Unterschiede zwischen Afrika und Europa ("Afrikanisierung" ist im Buch das passende Wort). Wenn man das Buch liest, wird einem als (Mittel)Europäer mal wieder klar wie gut wir es eigentlich haben - und wie anders alles sein könnte, wenn wir in einem anderen Land geboren worden wären oder die Geschichte einfach einen anderen Lauf genommen hätte.
Ein wenig gewöhnungsbedürftig fand ich, dass der Erzähler Maya immer mit "Du" anspricht. Aber das ist wahrscheinlich sicher sehr subjektiv. Ansonsten gibt es in dem Buch viele Wortwitze bzw. Namensabwandlungen, sowohl im Bezug auf berühmte Persönlichkeiten als auch auf Kunst, Kultur oder Industrie. Nur um mal ein paar Beispiele zu nennen: PapeSy und AfroCola, McDioula und Sarr Mbock oder das "weltberühmte[n] Lächeln der Mouna Sylla". Teilweise gerät man bei diesen Abwandlungen wirklich ins Grübeln, wer oder was denn nun gemeint ist.
Bisher klingt das ja soweit alles recht positiv, aber ich komme nicht umhin zu sagen, dass sich das Buch nicht gerade leicht liest. Es gibt viele Sprünge in der Handlung, es ist (meiner Meinung nach) eine ungewohnte Erzählweise und man würde eine ausgereifte Sachkenntnis über Afrika benötigen, um viele Anspielungen zu verstehen.
Nichtdestotrotz bereue ich es nicht das Buch gelesen zu haben, die Grundidee des Buches ist es wert.
April 17, 2016
Abdourahman A. Waberi has managed to take away everything I have and take for granted and give it to someone else. I watch from the sidelines as someone else takes it for granted. "I see," said the blind man.
March 25, 2024
Great concept- turning the world on its head with wealth and power in Eritrea and refugees from Europe - but the writing was impenetrable and, ultimately, unreadable. I made myself keep going until half way but then gave up. That will have to do.
May 29, 2015
Really good and really hard to read (in that the ideas are very challenging personally). It is a good and insightful look at the world as it is by looking through a looking glass at a world almost identical to our except for certain geographical specifics. The character of Yacuba, the poor Swiss worker, who can only be pitied for coming from a place so tragically divided by languages, cultures, and unarable, uninhabitable geography is a ringing rebuttal of using those factors and reasons for Africa suffering from poverty, war, disease, and the like. When the poor immigrants in the store are characters like me it is hard to hear the discussions in the novel about how they should be sent away because the well-off can't be expected to care for them all, and then it is convicting to know I have sometimes agreed with similar sentiments about immigrants who are not like me. Challenging in a really excellent way.
February 20, 2016
J'ai mis pourtant beaucoup de volonté mais ce livre m'est tombé des mains. L'idée de départ (l'Afrique comme le seul continent prospère duquel afflue toute la misère d'Europe et d'au-delà) était intéressante, mais l'écriture est indigeste. Le lyrisme y est étouffant, le thème n'est décliné que sous la forme d'un simple négatif de notre monde actuel. On s'y ennuie ferme, on se perd dans les références érudites et la lourdeur de la narration, on ne s'attache ni à l'histoire ni au personnage...
C'est à mon sens, un livre très maladroit et peu abouti. Passé les quelques références "retournées" pour l'adapter aux Etats-Unis d'Afrique (McDonalds qui devient McDiop pour n'en citer qu'un), le livre n'a aucune consistance et n'apporte aucune réflexion valant le détour.
C'est à mon sens, un livre très maladroit et peu abouti. Passé les quelques références "retournées" pour l'adapter aux Etats-Unis d'Afrique (McDonalds qui devient McDiop pour n'en citer qu'un), le livre n'a aucune consistance et n'apporte aucune réflexion valant le détour.
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May 6, 2016It's a very compelling concept, and I would certainly read it again. History happened somewhat differently, so that in the contemporary world, the United States of Africa is the stable economic superpower, caucasions from Europe and the rest of the west are fleeing poverty and turmoil to it's shores, and the international economic language Ahmharic (I think). The book is super short, and like I said, I would read it again. There isn't really enough of a narrative to it for my taste, though, and it's pretty heavy handed. But very interesting. I will look for more by the author.
May 3, 2010
Ok, I give up. I love the premise of this book and the first few pages were fun. But there's no story to speak of and the cute little wordplays are just not holding my attention anymore.
August 15, 2011
I expected this book to be a bit gimmicky, but it is actually a finely wrought, poetically written work of prose. The ideas are challenging, and the story is beautiful.
September 11, 2012
Will make you think....praise to University of Nebraska Press for translation & publishing this book, quoting Percival Everett....
March 8, 2021
Djibouti. I think you might need to be African to understand the references in this book. The premise is that the continent of Africa is the world superpower and the rest of the globe lives in poverty and disease. All people look to The United States of Africa for help and guidance. Refugee camps are filled with Europeans and Americans waiting to be allowed to live in Africa and benefit from their excellent social programs. This novel was difficult to read. Djibouti is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Somalia and Ethiopia.
October 22, 2022
Read around the world project - Djibouti
Interesting concept but I really struggled to get through this. The best line was describing places where you have snowy mountaintops: "... where the sky has given birth to a sperm-colored mountain." I absolutely would have DNF-ed if not for this reading project.
Interesting concept but I really struggled to get through this. The best line was describing places where you have snowy mountaintops: "... where the sky has given birth to a sperm-colored mountain." I absolutely would have DNF-ed if not for this reading project.
March 6, 2021
Abdourahman Waberi turns the world upside down in this novel: while Europe and North America are poor and underdeveloped, Africa is rich and thriving. What I liked about this novel is that even though it is fictitious and satirical, it succeeds in challenging the reader’s perception and understanding of the world and its injustices. But while I enjoyed the main idea, the writing itself was a bit too erratic for my taste and made it hard to get into the story.
March 6, 2019
Alors que ce roman promettait une très bonne perspective sur la racisme, la création d'un tiers-monde, les discours qu'on tient sur les pays d'Afrique, les migrations, etc. Là où il réussit à être cruel envers des migrants blancs qui viennent chercher du travail en Afrique, des conflits entre provinces européennes, à renverser les stéréotypes sur la noirceur et la blanchité; il ne fait que répéter les pires discours racistes qui se tiennent dans notre monde. Il ne s'agit pas d'imaginer des États-Unis africains avec toutes la richesse et la diversité, la nouvelle philosophie ou la religion qui pourrait être créée, mais de simplement inverser notre monde. Le McDo devient le McDiop, les Starbucks des Sarr Mbock (et j'en passe) qui ont exactement les mêmes fonctions. Les universités sont renommées en l'honneur de Senghor, Du Bois, Davis de ce monde (étrangement souvent des Américains...), les religions dominantes ne sont pas les catholiques reléguées à des branches factionnaires qui se combattent pour l'interprétation, les chanteurs mondialement connus sont Noirs, et les travailleuses du sexe Blanches.
Mais encore une fois, ce n'est que de l'inversion du Noir et du Blanc, rien d'autres.
On suit la protagoniste Maya/Marianne, une femme blanche d'origine française adoptée par un couple noir qui va partir à la recherche de sa mère adoptive dans un pays en ruine, dans la misère et en guerre perpétuelle qu'on appelle la France. J'insiste sur le "va partir" parce que le deux tiers du roman, ce n'est qu'une construction de monde dans lequel il ne se passe pour ainsi dire rien, sinon nous faire servir des discours excessivement "racistes" sur les migrants et les nombreux moyens utilisés pour les tuer/faire souffrir/expulser d'Afrique. C'est trash, ça se veut trash, mais encore une fois, ce n'est qu'une inversion des discours. Comme si la domination de l'Afrique n'allait pas modifier le rapport à l'autre fondamentalement plutôt qu'imiter ce qu'à fait l'Europe et l'Amérique dans notre monde.
Touchons aussi aux problèmes du roman: l'Amérique, c'est des Blancs, des pays pauvres, avec des francophones en guerre civile perpétuelle contre les anglophones au Québec. Il n'y a pas de Premières Nations, pas d'autochtone. Pas un mot de l'Amérique du Sud non plus. La colonisation de l'Amérique par les Européens n'est jamais vraiment expliquée, seul contresens du roman qui désire un renversement complet.
Au moins, le roman évite de tomber dans l'uchronie en expliquant la domination de l'Afrique par un changement temporel. On accepte le monde tel qu'il est et on n'explique pas pourquoi. Il est présenté ainsi depuis presque l'Antiquité, ce n'est donc pas vraiment un "what if", une uchronie, mais vraiment, encore une fois, une inversion.
Ah oui, l'autre problème du roman, on inverse les Noirs et les Blancs, mais la misogyne est la même, le traitement des personnages par l'auteur pareil. Je ne pense pas que ce soit intentionnel parce que parmi les nombreux artistes cités, on aurait vu pas mal plus de femmes africaines plutôt que les (très rares) mentionné de Maryse Condé, Angela Davis ou Marie Curie pour ne nommer que celle dont je me souviens avoir été mentionné. Sinon, les Malcolm X, Senghor, Saïd, Sekoto, Nougaro, Abdullah Ibrahim, Franklin Boukaka, etc. abondent. Une autre quand même grande déception du roman.
Pour avoir fait un mémoire sur la guerre des sexes dans un roman d'Eaubonne et avoir lu une tonne d'autres roman de SF qui utilisaient ce thème (de Herland à The Screwfly Solution en passant par The Power ou des livres profondément misogynes écrits par des hommes tel que Misandra), ou encore avoir lu des uchronies (The Year of Salt and Rice de Kim Stanley Robinson, Black Panther, etc.) où l'Europe n'émerge pas comme la puissance mondiale hégémonique telle qu'on la connait aujourd'hui; je dois malheureusement dire que ce roman exploite très mal les différents ressorts narratifs qui peuvent être déployés et ne fait que tomber dans les clichés de l'inversion qui peut certainement être brutal et saisissant pour des Blancs qui tiennent ce genre de discours, mais qui s'avère assez stérile en réflexion chez un lectorat plus intéressés par les mouvements des droits civiques, l'orientalisme, l'anti-racisme, ... Bref, un roman choc, mais qui aurait pu aller ailleurs. Super en terme de construction d'univers, mais sans réelle intrigue sinon une exploration de ce dernier. Plein d'allusions littéraires, musicales, historiques qui pourra peut-être permettre de la découverte pour certaines personnes qui désirerait en connaître davantage sur ces célébrités.
D'un autre côté, la quatrième de couverture m'avait vraiment des hautes attentes et je pensais pouvoir en tirer des réflexions nouvelles pour la continuité de mes recherches, mais peut-être suis-je déjà un peu lassé· de lire ce motif littéraire et n'ai plus cette paire d'yeux neufs pour la lecture.
Mais encore une fois, ce n'est que de l'inversion du Noir et du Blanc, rien d'autres.
On suit la protagoniste Maya/Marianne, une femme blanche d'origine française adoptée par un couple noir qui va partir à la recherche de sa mère adoptive dans un pays en ruine, dans la misère et en guerre perpétuelle qu'on appelle la France. J'insiste sur le "va partir" parce que le deux tiers du roman, ce n'est qu'une construction de monde dans lequel il ne se passe pour ainsi dire rien, sinon nous faire servir des discours excessivement "racistes" sur les migrants et les nombreux moyens utilisés pour les tuer/faire souffrir/expulser d'Afrique. C'est trash, ça se veut trash, mais encore une fois, ce n'est qu'une inversion des discours. Comme si la domination de l'Afrique n'allait pas modifier le rapport à l'autre fondamentalement plutôt qu'imiter ce qu'à fait l'Europe et l'Amérique dans notre monde.
Touchons aussi aux problèmes du roman: l'Amérique, c'est des Blancs, des pays pauvres, avec des francophones en guerre civile perpétuelle contre les anglophones au Québec. Il n'y a pas de Premières Nations, pas d'autochtone. Pas un mot de l'Amérique du Sud non plus. La colonisation de l'Amérique par les Européens n'est jamais vraiment expliquée, seul contresens du roman qui désire un renversement complet.
Au moins, le roman évite de tomber dans l'uchronie en expliquant la domination de l'Afrique par un changement temporel. On accepte le monde tel qu'il est et on n'explique pas pourquoi. Il est présenté ainsi depuis presque l'Antiquité, ce n'est donc pas vraiment un "what if", une uchronie, mais vraiment, encore une fois, une inversion.
Ah oui, l'autre problème du roman, on inverse les Noirs et les Blancs, mais la misogyne est la même, le traitement des personnages par l'auteur pareil. Je ne pense pas que ce soit intentionnel parce que parmi les nombreux artistes cités, on aurait vu pas mal plus de femmes africaines plutôt que les (très rares) mentionné de Maryse Condé, Angela Davis ou Marie Curie pour ne nommer que celle dont je me souviens avoir été mentionné. Sinon, les Malcolm X, Senghor, Saïd, Sekoto, Nougaro, Abdullah Ibrahim, Franklin Boukaka, etc. abondent. Une autre quand même grande déception du roman.
Pour avoir fait un mémoire sur la guerre des sexes dans un roman d'Eaubonne et avoir lu une tonne d'autres roman de SF qui utilisaient ce thème (de Herland à The Screwfly Solution en passant par The Power ou des livres profondément misogynes écrits par des hommes tel que Misandra), ou encore avoir lu des uchronies (The Year of Salt and Rice de Kim Stanley Robinson, Black Panther, etc.) où l'Europe n'émerge pas comme la puissance mondiale hégémonique telle qu'on la connait aujourd'hui; je dois malheureusement dire que ce roman exploite très mal les différents ressorts narratifs qui peuvent être déployés et ne fait que tomber dans les clichés de l'inversion qui peut certainement être brutal et saisissant pour des Blancs qui tiennent ce genre de discours, mais qui s'avère assez stérile en réflexion chez un lectorat plus intéressés par les mouvements des droits civiques, l'orientalisme, l'anti-racisme, ... Bref, un roman choc, mais qui aurait pu aller ailleurs. Super en terme de construction d'univers, mais sans réelle intrigue sinon une exploration de ce dernier. Plein d'allusions littéraires, musicales, historiques qui pourra peut-être permettre de la découverte pour certaines personnes qui désirerait en connaître davantage sur ces célébrités.
D'un autre côté, la quatrième de couverture m'avait vraiment des hautes attentes et je pensais pouvoir en tirer des réflexions nouvelles pour la continuité de mes recherches, mais peut-être suis-je déjà un peu lassé· de lire ce motif littéraire et n'ai plus cette paire d'yeux neufs pour la lecture.
December 10, 2019
In the United States of Africa is a work of art! If you go into this book expecting a straight-forward novel with typical plot development, you might be disappointed. This is more a collection of vignettes showing Waberi’s imaginings of our world and history turned on its head. In Waberi’s world, Africa is a beacon of knowledge, advanced healthcare, and security in a world ravaged by disease and warfare (with that global positioning, of course, come materialism, extreme vanity, anti-immigrant sentiment, and many of the other social-economic ills that we see in playing out in the US today). He loosely follows the story of Malaika, an artist living in the capitol city of Asmara, whose parents adopted her from France while on a humanitarian mission.
Waberi’s writing is gorgeous and poetic. Story aside, the imagery he creates with his words makes reading this book worthwhile. What I found most brilliant about this book, though, is his masterful use of irony to poke holes into “Western�/American hubris, from its most obvious to its most nuanced forms. There is also great satisfaction that comes with simply reading his descriptions of what this alternate Africa could be (much like watching Wakanda brought to life in the Black Panther movie).
The history-lover in me was constantly asking a million questions about how this world came to be. Waberi offers some clues, but avoids going into details. Going there probably would have bogged down the book, so I get why he didn’t. Anyway, I found it fun as I read to let my imagination wander and piece together what the United States of Africa would look like.
Sometimes Waberi lost me in his poetic meanderings, which is the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars. Also, some of the references (to real people, places, books, etc.) went over my head. The book is so short that I might reread it and also look up some of the names I didn’t recognize as I go.
Waberi’s writing is gorgeous and poetic. Story aside, the imagery he creates with his words makes reading this book worthwhile. What I found most brilliant about this book, though, is his masterful use of irony to poke holes into “Western�/American hubris, from its most obvious to its most nuanced forms. There is also great satisfaction that comes with simply reading his descriptions of what this alternate Africa could be (much like watching Wakanda brought to life in the Black Panther movie).
The history-lover in me was constantly asking a million questions about how this world came to be. Waberi offers some clues, but avoids going into details. Going there probably would have bogged down the book, so I get why he didn’t. Anyway, I found it fun as I read to let my imagination wander and piece together what the United States of Africa would look like.
Sometimes Waberi lost me in his poetic meanderings, which is the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars. Also, some of the references (to real people, places, books, etc.) went over my head. The book is so short that I might reread it and also look up some of the names I didn’t recognize as I go.
June 27, 2015
Very interesting speculative/alternate history novel where countries of the African continent have been united into one federally-run superpower. This flips the narrative and puts Europe, the US, Australia, etc. into the place of the developing world (I learned from a fellow bookseller who spent a year working with an orphanage in Djibouti, where the author was born/grew up, that the country is more closely linked to France i.e. only French families can adopt children from Djibouti, which makes sense with the French-oriented plot of the novel).
The ideas and world created by Waberi was very intriguing with a lot of moving parts and I was disappointed that the novel was so slim (only about 120 pages in the US translation). I would have loved more time to explore all the parts of the world rather than intermittently follow the main character. I think the narrative thread of the book is hard to follow, too, due to the author's choice to use a 2nd person narration - the "I" seems to be the author and the "you" is the young woman Maya/Malaika - and it jumps around quite a bit. I think a story collection set in this world by Waberi would be phenomenal.
The ideas and world created by Waberi was very intriguing with a lot of moving parts and I was disappointed that the novel was so slim (only about 120 pages in the US translation). I would have loved more time to explore all the parts of the world rather than intermittently follow the main character. I think the narrative thread of the book is hard to follow, too, due to the author's choice to use a 2nd person narration - the "I" seems to be the author and the "you" is the young woman Maya/Malaika - and it jumps around quite a bit. I think a story collection set in this world by Waberi would be phenomenal.
September 6, 2021
What if USA stood for United States of Africa? The UNited States of Africa is the biggest, most influential, most important country in the world; the center of the 1st World.
Interesting to look at the world as it might be ifthe 3rd World were 1st, and the 1st world were 3rd. Interesting to see how the same problems would exist no matter what, even though the tables had been turned. Still, it was disappointing to only have the names swiched. It claims to be satire; why do things work better in the United States of Africa than in the world we are so familiar with? The author taking risks to examine the further success og the United States of Africa would have been interesting, but he doesn't do so.
There are the universals - going to find your "roots" in the Third World, whether that be Africa or France, is still difficult.
Interesting to look at the world as it might be ifthe 3rd World were 1st, and the 1st world were 3rd. Interesting to see how the same problems would exist no matter what, even though the tables had been turned. Still, it was disappointing to only have the names swiched. It claims to be satire; why do things work better in the United States of Africa than in the world we are so familiar with? The author taking risks to examine the further success og the United States of Africa would have been interesting, but he doesn't do so.
There are the universals - going to find your "roots" in the Third World, whether that be Africa or France, is still difficult.
January 28, 2023
I hated this book at first. It felt disjointed and full of random references to places. After 6 chapters I realised I'd read too fast so decided to start again and slow it right down. This changed things entirely. I reread passages until I really understood, although there were many references I'm sure I missed. This book is far more than swapping the world order around. The story gets you thinking about how we perceive the world. The character of Maya only emerges over time as well as her connection with those around her. This was a challenging read, I recommend reading without family interruptions!
For a better review:
For a better review:
October 11, 2018
I think I am a meat and 3 veg kind of reader. And whilst I enjoy an elevated meal, when tweezers are needed to put it together then it has probably moved past my plebeian palate. And so with this book. The premise was so cool and there were paragraphs and portions that struck me and resonated with me, but the prose was just too intricate and fussy (not quite the word I am looking for) for my taste. There are people who will love this style of writing but for a book of just 120 pages to take me nearly a month to read ... it was obviously a dish too far. One star for my taste but that would be unfair to what is not a bad book.
July 25, 2011
Le concept du roman est génial et ne mérite que des éloges!!!! Bravo à Waberi pour ça!!! "Casque bleus nigériens" ou "une insalubre favela de Zurich" , ça, c'est une satire de meilleure qualité!
Pourtant le coté mécanique de la narration ne m'a point plu.. J'avais du mal à suivre le sujet et les personages..Peut-être c'est à cause de mon immaturiité litéraire (en ce qui concerne de lire en français) mais j'étais impatiante de terminer le livre le plus vite possible, parce qu'il m'encombrait déjà..
Pourtant le coté mécanique de la narration ne m'a point plu.. J'avais du mal à suivre le sujet et les personages..Peut-être c'est à cause de mon immaturiité litéraire (en ce qui concerne de lire en français) mais j'étais impatiante de terminer le livre le plus vite possible, parce qu'il m'encombrait déjà..
August 21, 2016
In the United States of Africa tager afsæt i en interessant idé. Den er båret af meget vid og er sprogligt set ganske velskrevet. Romanen er meget ambitiøs i sin fortælleteknik, men for mig fremstod den som præget af for meget form og for lidt fortælling. Det er som om, romanen segner under sin egen ambition. Ihvertfald blev den aldrig rigtig interessant for mig.
Læs hele anmeldelsen her:
Læs hele anmeldelsen her:
December 5, 2016
Povoado de belíssimas passagens e de muita sátira, e no entanto perde o fôlego por várias razões: não detalha o suficiente como funcionam ou foram criados estes Estados Unidos de África, perde-se nalgumas histórias paralelas e numa heroína que (para mim pelo menos) não se percebe, e tudo ou quase tudo é meramente invertidos, sofrendo estes EUA dos mesmos males que o nosso mundo desenvolvido.
Sinceramente, eu queria perceber como era a vida neste país imaginado e não seguir a órfã Maya.
Sinceramente, eu queria perceber como era a vida neste país imaginado e não seguir a órfã Maya.
May 4, 2017
I just did not like this book. I had it as part of my quest to read a book by an author from every country in the world.
There may be more to the story than I understand - there are probably references to people and things that I am not familiar with. But I agree with what other reviewers have written. It is almost as though the author jotted down notes - thoughts he wanted to expand on - and then just published those.
There may be more to the story than I understand - there are probably references to people and things that I am not familiar with. But I agree with what other reviewers have written. It is almost as though the author jotted down notes - thoughts he wanted to expand on - and then just published those.
November 19, 2017
Interesting insights, brought to the reader in a very creative way. Waberi is a genius, although I must say that his style probably is hard to read when read for the first time (and all the more for those not used to African lit). I think at least two or three readings of the book are needed to take sufficient from it in order to recognize it as the master work it is - or, in some aspects, could be.
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