Ferdinand Oyono

A fierce satire on the colonial situation; the story is that of an old villager who is suddenly awarded a medal.

The Old Man and the Medal

this was a very short read from a Cameroonian writer. sometimes reading the african writers series i get bored with the African traditional values versus modernity juxtaposition but have to remind myself that our ancestors were trying to keep alive our life making societies and culture. I’m forever in awe with what African writers did with the novel in the 20th century.

The satire of awarding Africans meaningless awards still lives today as in this tweet I found of Kenyan veterans receiving medals for their role fighting for the British in World War II (

https://x.com/Kenyans/status/1855493786522005819

) I really enjoyed learning about the collectivist nature of Cameroonian society, there was a small interesting part of the novel where we learn how Cameroonian women converted to Christianity in masses to escape patriarchal polygamous marriages. sadly this book is lost now somewhere in Cape Town a now running theme for me this year lol

Marion

this was a very short read from a Cameroonian writer. sometimes reading the african writers series i get bored with the African traditional values versus modernity juxtaposition but have to remind myself that our ancestors were trying to keep alive our life making societies and culture. I’m forever in awe with what African writers did with the novel in the 20th century.

The satire of awarding Africans meaningless awards still lives today as in this tweet I found of Kenyan veterans receiving medals for their role fighting for the British in World War II (https://x.com/Kenyans/status/1855493786522005819) I really enjoyed learning about the collectivist nature of Cameroonian society, there was a small interesting part of the novel where we learn how Cameroonian women converted to Christianity in masses to escape patriarchal polygamous marriages. sadly this book is lost now somewhere in Cape Town a now running theme for me this year lol

The Old Man and the Medal

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