In his column, former Federal Councillor Pascal Couchepin shares a book that has made an impression on him. This month, he comments on David Diop's latest novel.
A seasoned diplomat once told me that, when a discussion gets bogged down in an international forum, it's a good idea to let an African lead the debate. Africans, in this context, know how to recreate a link, reanimate dialogue. They have a way with words. And their creativity of expression is well known. I remember one morning in the DRC, when the housekeeper looked at me buttering my slice of bread and said: «Ah, Monsieur, you've put a lot of butter on your bread!»
The French language has the good fortune to share it with talented African writers. The first novel I read by a French-speaking African author was the wonderful Amkoullel, l'enfant peul (Mémoires I). In it, Amadou Hampâté Bâ recounts his childhood in Mali and his
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