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The Abandoned Baobab: The Autobiography of a Senegalese Woman
by
Ken Bugul
The subject of intense admiration--and not a little shock, when it was first published-- "The Abandoned Baobab" has consistently captivated readers ever since. The book has been translated into numerous languages and was chosen by QBR Black Book Review as one of Africa's 100 best books of the twentieth century. No African woman had ever been so frank, in an autobiography,
...more
Paperback
,
180 pages
Published
April 8th 2008
by University of Virginia Press
(first published 1984)
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Community Reviews
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Contrast. Between the village in Senegal and the Belgian city. Between Bugul's means of conveyance and my mode of decoding. It is always hot there. It is always cold there, she says of the village, a line I'd usually have read as a boring paradox but that here leads out from me a humbled understanding that this place is out of the time I know. In the city time and the narrative snagged on it roll onward like the conveyor belt of a machine, like the tread of a tank, while when Bugul's consciousne
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I didn't much enjoy this book. Perhaps once I have a chance to talk about it with my classmates, I can get a better understanding of the novel. I don't have high hopes, though. The overall narrative structure of the novel was very off-putting; the speaker felt quite distanced from her audience. At times it felt like listening to someone talk to herself -- you feel like you're intruding, a little awkward and confused at hearing only one side of a conversation. Additionally, the chronology jumped
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Interesting ruminations on self-identity for a Senegalese woman in Europe. The intensity of her self-analysis grew tedious after a while, however, and I skimmed the last 40 pages. An interesting voice, for sure, but I liked "Ambiguous Adventure" by Cheikh Hamidou Kane better. It also deals with someone from Senegal confronting life in Europe, but didn't feel as self-absorbed as this book.
Serein et tourmenté - Un malaise général, d'un continent à l'autre, des gens qui, sans doute tentent de rêver leur vie au détriment des réalités et le moi dans la douleur toujours de sa conscience...
Extrait :
..."Il faut se demander parfois comment allait ce monde sans appréhender de répondre; chaque jour de la vie, les événements se succédaient inéluctables. On pouvait rêver sa vie, mais on ne pouvait pas rêver sa réalité. Le quotidien n'est constitué que par des instants.". Comment un être hum ...more
Extrait :
..."Il faut se demander parfois comment allait ce monde sans appréhender de répondre; chaque jour de la vie, les événements se succédaient inéluctables. On pouvait rêver sa vie, mais on ne pouvait pas rêver sa réalité. Le quotidien n'est constitué que par des instants.". Comment un être hum ...more
At first I wasn't a huge fan of this book, but about half way through it started to win me over. There were a lot of little quotes in here that I really enjoyed and rang true to me. But there were also times where it seemed to me that the book was one huge poem. But I enjoyed the book. It was also interesting to hear about how this woman interacted with white men and how they only saw her as an object. That was really interesting to me as well.
While I can appreciate the importance of this book, I found it rather tedious to read (perhaps it would have been better in the original French, but I only had it in English), and never made it all the way to the end. I was looking for something by a Senegalese author before going on a trip to Dakar, and this was the only thing that was readily available at the time.
Adoro a esta muller, o seu xeito de escribir, as súas descricións da realidade occidental desde o punto de vista africano. Fai a unha reflexionar sobre moitos asuntos, o feminismo, as relacións humanas, os costumes, o paso do tempo, a vivencia das experiencias,... Recomendable 100%.
I think this book was poorly translated. I couldn't read more than a few pages-- the language was terrible: formal, stilted, distanced. The protagonist constantly referred to her father as "the father" and there were other weird things like that. I couldn't even bring myself to finish it.
A really complex look at a woman's relationship with location and identity - the trauma of exile. So much of the writer's personal experiences are present in this book and it's a very insightful and intense read.
I have a student writing on this book. I'm looking forward to reading it, and would love to discuss it with others.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great African Reads: March/April: Senegal | The Abandoned Baobab | 19 | 47 | Apr 10, 2015 03:02AM | |
| 500 Great Books B...: The Abandoned Baobab - Ken Bugul | 4 | 13 | Mar 30, 2015 09:17AM |
Ken Bugul (born 1947 in Ndoucoumane) is the pen name of a Senegalese Francophone novelist, whose real name is Mariètou Mbaye Biléoma. The name derives from the Wolof language, in which it means "one who is unwanted."
Bugul was raised in a polygamous environment. Her father was an 85-year-old marabout. After completing her elementary education in her native village, she studied at the Malick Sy Seco ...more
More about Ken Bugul...
Bugul was raised in a polygamous environment. Her father was an 85-year-old marabout. After completing her elementary education in her native village, she studied at the Malick Sy Seco ...more
Apr 13, 2015 07:30AM
Jun 14, 2015 07:15AM