Purgatoire (or Purgatory) is the second part of the trilogy 'L'infernale Comédie' (Galactic Comedy), in which the late Mike Resnick takes the colonial history of a few African countries/regions, wrapped in allegories. In the first volume, 'Paradis', he focused on Kenya; see my review here. In this second volume, Zimbabwe is the centre of attention.

This isn't your typical historical fiction novel, but more like a political allegory of historical events. For more information, checking out the Wikipedia page (and this chapter) will allow for a better understanding.

Like the first novel, the story is divided into several parts and preceded by the fable of the scorpion and the crocodile. Each part follows chronologically and focuses on a new era and a new central character's point-of-view:

Livre I - L'arbre de Jalanopi (The Tree of Jalanopi, or, Jalanopi's Tree)
Livre II - Le rêve de Jardinier (The Dream of Gardener, or, Gardener's Dream)
Livre III - La gloire de Fuentes (The Glory of Fuentes, or, Fuentes's Glory)
Livre IV - La citadelle de Wilcock (Wilcock's Citadel)
Livre V - Le lac de Peterson (Peterson's Lake)
Livre VI - Le millénaire de Blake (Blake's Millenium)
Livre VII - La corde raide de Paka (Paka's tightrope)
Epilogue

As you can see, each chapter focuses on a different period of the colonisation and a different main character, each of whom wishes to exert his/her power to realise certain projects and so accelerate the country's economic and social situation. At least, from a western point-of-view.

Karimon is wanted for its natural resources, hence the European/British colonisers wanting to set up a mining business, agricultural reforms, and so bring prosperity to a nation splintered by tribes and internal wars. In addition, the locals are depicted as snakelike people with a very low level of intelligence. Why else has their country, their political, social, and economical situation not changed after all those centuries? Compared to that of the colonisers: technology, medicine, education, expanding one's territory (planets here instead of countries), etc.

The various characters come across as believable beings, from Jalanopi (chief of the Tulabete tribe) over reverend McFarley (a missionary who has not succeeded into converting the locals to Christianity, but he can remain as interpreter/assistant of Jalanopi and even tries to present himself as political advisor) to the various British colonisers.

How do you convince a local chief to sign an agreement, to trade with you? You provide weapons, so he and his tribe can win the various battles against enemy tribes more easily, thus keeping one's power intact, even expand it. However, do make sure the weapons have a little defect, else they can be used against you. You have to show who's boss, who's outsmarting whom in order to get what you want. Even if honesty and equality are never part of the deal. Mining business (or any business in such a case) is a serious matter: obtain exclusive rights so that even the local population, whose soil and resources you're digging up and exploiting, can't do anything about it. At least legally. One word: manipulation, directly and indirectly (e.g. via the other tribes).
Oh yes, do make sure the agreement is not verified by the international agency or suffer the consequences: review/rewrite the agreement, allow for outside control and supervision, etc.

Of course, with this colonisation come immigrants. Hence, a new "tribe" installs itself. These people have more privileges and access to modern services than the local tribes. However, after a while, the local workers start to protest, an uprising, fight for the recovery of their own lands and rights. They are fought off, though not without consequences. The colonists have to admit a certain defeat and some even leave the colony again. The Republic - the supervising space-empire -, condemns the practices of the private corporation: enslaving the local workforce, manipulation to mine and exploit the lands, allowing immigrants to possess and expand premises where the locals lived, and more.

So, to counter the corporation's actions and wanting a more honest and equal divide of power and rights, the Republic supports the local population (because other actions and decisions had not the desired effect). In the end, both parties realise, one way or another, that they need each other. The local tribes, on the one hand, and mainly the Tubalete (despite having a new leader; Jalanopi indeed loses his influence), don't really know how to run the country, how to operate the machines, work the fields (agriculture was also something the people of Karimon had never heard of, at least not on a grand scale); in short, collaborate and create progress. The colonists, on the other hand, need the local tribes to continue the developments and hire the locals as workforce. Otherwise, the project is doomed. However, it takes drastic measures for both parties to realise this. The country's steady rise into modern times drops seriously back into poverty. It will rise from the ashes, but at a high cost and at a slow pace.

The ending is symbolic for the turnaround, the new leader realising they have to move forward and can't go back to how it was before. Chief Jalanopi had his own tree, under which he sat on his throne to address his tribe and speak with strangers, colonisers, ... The tree was a holy, royal symbol. A central point in Tulabetian politics. The last chief will decide to cut down the tree and use it as burning wood.

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I found it interesting to see how - as is typical when colonising an underdeveloped country - the British applied their supremacy and manipulation to their advantage, convincing the local population to agree to the exploitation and colonisation of their lands through an written agreement in a language they didn't understand, hence reverend McFarley serving as interpreter and translator. These people didn't even know the concept of money - goods were traded/exchanged for other goods or services -, let alone money that can only be used on the various planets of the space-empire.

The colonisation was one the one hand a positive step towards a better future for Karimon (Zimbabwe), on the other hand it had a dramatic impact on the tribes' lives and societies.

As someone else wrote, the "science fiction" layer wasn't really necessary, as too much of the story referred to real places. Also, I read this while Afghanistan was being taken back by the Taliban (July-August 2021), with the US army having to retreat after 20 years of occupation and "nation-building". There are quite some similarities in terms of political events, occupation, progress, tribes fighting for power, ...

Long story short: Like 'Paradis'(e) (first book), 'Purgatoire' (Purgatory) is a recommended read to be introduced to the colonisation of an African country or colonisation in general and its consequences, regardless of who the coloniser is. And with much respect for the colonised, the oppressed.

A final word of kudos for the translator Luc Carissimo (who translated the other books, too), following this article in The Guardian, ironically a British newspaper. ;-)

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I was sent this book by Éditions ActuSF for review. Many thanks to them for the trust. ( )

Recently read Mike Resnick's 1993 book Purgatory, the first in a three-book series. What a great read! I couldn't put it down. As you may know, Resnick is one of the most prolific and successful of Science Fiction writers. His books and stories have appeared everywhere. What you may not know is that Resnick, like myself, has a passion for Africa, and he uses it a lot in his work. We have corresponded and chatted about this, and he sent me several stories, but this book is tops.Purgatory is the story of Karimon, a distant planet rich in minerals, discovered by a Republic who then try and colonize it and exploit its mineral wealth. They are opposed by local tribal leader Janalopi and a Republic missionary, both of whom, are eventually brushed aside by the colonists with total disregard.As the colony develops and the natives become more and more frustrated with their low status and living conditions and the loss of 90% of their land, they start to protest, eventually launching a guerilla rebellion. The Republic leaders brush it off as minor nuisance but eventually find themselves slowly becoming overwhelmed. A new breed of native leader, educated in Republic schools and aware of Republic culture, take over the rebellion and lead their people with new strength.The book is rich with flavor and strong characterization. The story centers around Karimoni and Colonist characters from various eras in the planet's development and their interactions. Resnick uses African history here to address injustices and issues often ignored in an outer space setting. The best science fiction uses the futuristic settings, technology, etc. to teach us or remind us of something about ourselves or our past, and Resnick does that here to great effect.Purgatory is one of the best reads I've found in science fiction so far, and I look foward to reading his follow up books Paradise and Inferno very soon. Highly recommended. For what it's worth... ( )