Max Lobe

In A Long Way from Douala, teenage Jean and his friend (and secret crush) Simon team up to try to find Jean's brother Roger, who has run away from home in the aftermath of their father's death in the hope of making it to Europe. Max Lobe provides a vivid picture of life in contemporary Cameroon, and I liked the rhythms of his dialogue and his use of Camfranglais (a slang mash-up of French, English, and indigeneous African languages). Yet as a coming-of-age novel it never quite... well, comes of age. And while Jean's sexism and transphobia aren't that surprising, given that he's a repressed teenager raised in an explicitly patriarchal evangelical Christian household, the continual misogyny and vitriol made for a wearying read.… (mehr)

I'm glad I read A Long Way from Douala, but much of that reading was an "almost" experience. The relationship between main characters almost reached a point of new understanding. I was almost able to relax enough to laugh at the moments of humor, despite the implicit threats the main characters face. Lobe almost offered a glimpse of queer life‚or the lack thereof—in Cameroon. There's almost resolution at the end, but the narrative mostly peters out.

Seeing this slice of life in Cameroon was interesting. The use of dialect was excellent. I just wish there had been something more in addition.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.… (mehr)