Segou

[James]

I read a really good book in Mali. It is fiction but historically and culturally accurate and I really feel that I have a much improved understanding of Bamana culture after reading it, including the role of the Komo, class divisions, animist beliefs etc.

Don't expect djembe, but do expect a great story, and a lot of cultural understanding.

James says yes

[bubudi]

thanks. i must have a read... i found an interesting bio on the author.

she also wrote children of segou two years later.

[Michel]

Everybody interested in Bamana-culture should read it. And visit the tombe of Biton Coulibaly in Segoukoro (the original segou in the book) after. Then you'll see that buildings mentioned in the book are still there! Enjoy reading.

[e2c]

Maryse Condé - haven't yet read any of her titles re. Mali, but... she's an excellent writer, no question!

[Waraba]

Hey, James--did you acquire the book in Mali, or did you bring it there? If you got it there, maybe it was the copy I left behind 20 years ago...???

[James]

Hi that would have been nice, but I got it from a friend, and then accidently left it in Abdoul Doumbia's house instead of giving it back

[EvanP]

I just ordered a copy. It should arrive before I take off on vacation.

Hopefully I won't leave it anywhere, at least until I finish it!

[bops]

Hi that would have been nice, but I got it from a friend, and then accidently left it in Abdoul Doumbia's house instead of giving it back

It should still be there... that is, of course, unless the children tear it to shreds.

[e2c]

I read both Segu and Children of Segu recently. They're fascinating books, but not exactly upbeat.

One thing that I think Condé excelled at was showing the condition of those who were enslaved, both in Africa and in the Western Hemisphere... to a large extent the African sections of the books show the lives of women and girls who were enslaved while the "New World" sections are focused on male characters who were captured by slavers.

[Waraba]

Hi that would have been nice, but I got it from a friend, and then accidently left it in Abdoul Doumbia's house instead of giving it back

That's even funnier. I was in Mali with Abdoul Doumbia while I was reading it. He must have quite a collection of that book by now.