The shameful state : a novel / Sony Labou Tansi ; Translated by Dominic Thomas ; Foreword by Alain Mabanckou.

Author/creator Sony Lab'Ou Tansi author.
Other author Thomas, Dominic Richard David translator.
Other author Mabanckou, Alain, writer of foreword.
Format Book
PublicationBloomington ; Indianapolis : Indiana University Press, [2016]
Descriptionix, 116 pages ; 22 cm.
Subjects

Uniform titleÉtat honteux. English
SeriesGlobal African voices
Global African voices. ^A1055153
Subject "Set in a fictitious African nation, this novel by the distinguished writer Sony Labou Tansi takes aim at the corruption, degeneracy, violence, and repression of political life in Africa. At the heart of The Shameful State is the story of Colonel Martillimi Lopez, the nation's president, whose eccentricity and whims epitomize the 'shameful situation in which humanity has elected to live.' Lopez stages a series of grotesque and barbaric events while his nation falls apart. Unable to resist the dictator's will, his desperate citizens are left with nothing but humiliation. The evocation of this deranged world is a showcase for the linguistic and stylistic inventiveness that are the hallmark of Sony Labou Tansi's work. This first English translation by Dominic Thomas includes a foreword by Congolese writer Alain Mabanckou that contextualizes the novel's importance in literary history and the significance of Sony Labou Tansi for future generations of writers."--Publisher summary.
General noteTranslation of: L' État honteux. Paris : Editions du Seuil, 1981.
LanguageTranslated from the French.
Genre/formFiction.
LCCN 2015021504
ISBN9780253019257 (pbk. ; alk. paper)
ISBN0253019257 (pbk. ; alk. paper)
ISBN(ebook)

Availability

Library Location Call Number Status Item Actions
Joyner General Stacks PQ3989.2.S64 E813 2016 ✔ Available Place Hold