Georges Simenon was a Belgian writer best known for his detective stories. He wrote literary novels, too, like this one published in 1933. It’s about a young French man, Joseph Timar, who goes to Gabon to take a position with a French company operating there. He finds himself in a world where there are three… [Read More]
Blog
Category: Africa
Equatorial Guinea: “The Wonga Coup” by Adam Roberts
I’ve been doing this project of learning about Africa one nation at a time for about a year and a half now, and I have read a lot of academic books. In some of these small countries, the only people doing the research are those looking for more and more obscure dissertation topics. I expected to… [Read More]
Djibouti, by Elmore Leonard
Djibouti is a small country with a major role in world trade. It has about 800,000 people and a deepwater port on the Horn of Africa that serves as a connection between Europe, East Africa, the Middle East, and on to Asia. It was once French territory and retains strong ties to Paris. I try… [Read More]
Ethiopia: “The God Who Begat a Jackal”, by Nega Mezlekia
Ethiopia is a strange country: the home of a large Christian Orthodox population, but also the birthplace of one of the largest religions in the Caribbean, Rastafari; a nation associated with famine, a famine that was largely man-made; a country where the large Christian population, monarchical social structure, and convenient location made it loom large… [Read More]
South Sudan: A new nation struggles
I know a little bit more about South Sudan than about the average African nation because I attend an Episcopal church, and the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago has a relationship with the Episcopal Diocese of Renk, in South Sudan. The country became independent in 2011. Last year, Bishop Joseph Atem of the Diocese of Renk… [Read More]
