Novel
Bina
Not translated into English
Auguste Rajaonarivelo · 1933
Synopsis
In the Farafangana of the thirties, on the south-east coast of Madagascar, Bina, a young Andriabakara man, loves Kemba, a young Antaifasy woman. Forced to continue his studies in Antananarivo, he leaves his betrothed to face the temptations of their small town; before his departure, the two swear fidelity to each other, which for Kemba means remaining a virgin until he comes back to make their union official. Bina and his companions make the journey to the capital on foot, and the novel extends to religion, morality and money.
Context
The novel was published in 1933 by the Imprimerie de l'Imerina, with drawings by Lucien Andriamampianina, and received the Les Belles-Lettres prize the same year, whose team wrote its preface; the Lutheran press of Antananarivo reissued it in 1957, 1971 and 1993, in one hundred and seventeen pages. It is one of the few popular narratives, born of the French-style serial novel, to have passed from instalment to book. It was long on the Malagasy syllabus for the fourth form.
Who it is for
In Malagasy, a little over a hundred pages, never translated; its prose, vivid and slightly old-fashioned, is what its readers remember of it.
Prizes and reception
Crowned with a prize on its publication and one of the classics of the Malagasy secondary school, it was reissued until the nineties.
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