Trifonia Melibea Obono

Orphaned Okomo lives under the watchful eye of her grandmother and dreams of finding her father. Forbidden from seeking him out, she enlists the help of other village outcasts: her gay uncle, and a gang of “mysterious” girls reveling in their so-called indecency. Drawn into their illicit trysts, Okomo finds herself falling for their leader and rebelling against the rigid norms of Fang culture.

La Bastarda

Alexia Cambaling

Content Warning/s: Pedophilia, Incest, Mentions of Rape, Attempted Rape, Homophobia, Non-explicit Underage sex

Contains spoilers.

La Bastarda is a novella by Trifonia Melibea Obono, a writer from the Equitorial Guinea and it deals with a young girl discovering her sexual identity, while dealing with a sense of alienation from her family and community at large. It's an excellent coming-of-age story that deftly deals with these heavy themes and offers a quiet, but ultimately satisfying resolution. It's also a short book, less than 100 pages and will take about an afternoon to read. This book is the first book from the Equitorial Guinea that I've read and I've also heard that this book is banned there.

However, mind the content warnings. I put the content warnings here for a reason. Despite the short length, there's a lot going on in La Bastarda. The book deals with a lot of heavy themes and it might not be for everybody. If you think you'll be triggered by these themes, I can't recommend this book to you.

La Bastarda is the story of a girl named Okomo. She's known as "La Bastarda" because her mother died giving birth before her father could give a dowry, which is why her grandparents call him a scoundrel and refuse to tell her about him, where he was, or let her meet him. Meanwhile, her uncle is one of the only people who truly cares about her and he's known as a "man-woman" due to his refusal to sleep with any of the women he was forced to marry and later on, to "do his duty for the village."

Okomo is a member of the Fang people, which is the dominant ethnic group in the Equitorial Guinea. From the beginning, she is more than a little resistant about the expectations placed on her as a woman. There were several instances in the book where it's shown that she didn't understand or didn't want to conform with the gender norms of her society. So she does feel constricted in this situation, torn between expectations placed by family and society, and being true to herself as an individual.

Things come to a head when she meets three girls that the rest of the village call indecent women. It is when she meets them, and in particular, the ringleader of the group, Dina, that she really understands why she felt alienated. It gave her clarity as to her identity and she was also able to understand her uncle better. With them, she was able to explore her sexuality and break out of the confines of the norms that she grew up with.

Despite being short, I wouldn't call La Bastarda an easy read. I put in those content warnings for a reason. However, I did enjoy reading the book, or rather I liked it. I thought it was a good book, the writing was excellent, I liked the pacing, and the characters were well done. However, don't go into this expecting it to be like your typical coming-of-age novel that could have been published in the West. Keep an open mind, the structure is a little different. It might be too fast or too slow for some, or omitted some details. It's a great book, just not for everybody.

La Bastarda

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