Calixthe Beyala

"À travers le récit de la petite Tapoussière élevée par sa grand-mère en l'absence de sa mère, disparue, et de son père, inconnu, Calixthe Beyala revient au plus près de ses racines. Force d'imprécation, tendresse, lyrisme, mais aussi colère et humour, La petite fille du réverbère dévoile les secrets d'un héritage - celui d'une enfance misérable dont l'auteur n'a jamais pu guérir. Largement autobiographique, ce roman est sans doute le plus intime et le plus émouvant que l'auteur de Assèze l'Africaine et Les Honneurs perdus (Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française) ait jamais écrit. Le livre clé d'une ceuvre originale, singulière et généreuse, marquée à tout jamais du sceau de l'Afrique éternelle." -- Description de l'éditeur

In a West-African prison cell a young woman, Tanga, is dying. Her only companion is Anna-Claude, a foreigner on the brink of madness. Reluctantly, Tanga begins to confide her life story to this stranger. A grim tale of incest, prostitution, bereavement and crime unfolds. Tanga's anguished mind searches for the words to express such suffering. Yet as she does so, the bond between her and the white stranger begins to grow. In passing on her story, she is fusing her identity with the woman who will live after her death. 'Your name shall be Tanga', she insists. In this disturbing novel about sexual abuse and violence, Calixthe Beyala voices the solidarity that unites women across racial, religious and class barriers.

"Nineteen-year-old Ateba lives in a slum neighbourhood in the African city of Awu. Abandoned by her prostitute mother, Ateba lodges with her aunt. Caught between the expectations of her aunt, who seeks a high bride-price for her, and the violent threats of her suitor, Ateba begins to lose her fragile hold on sanity." "This shocking novel deconstructs the illusions about African women which negritude literature has produced. Beyala gives a voice to those who have learnt the emotional and psychological effects of life in the African ghetto."--Jacket.