Democratic Republic of the Congo / All works
Novel
Sans rancune
Not translated into English
Thomas Kanza · 1965
Synopsis
In the Belgian Congo of the 1950s, the novel follows the social path of a young man who becomes the first lay Congolese to pursue university studies in Europe; the narrative, autobiographical for the most part, draws on the author's life.
Context
Published in 1965, the novel is presented as a pivotal work of the literature of Congo-Kinshasa. Around 2000 the author produced a revised and enlarged version, published in 2006 by L'Harmattan, in the series L'Afrique au cœur des lettres, with a preface by Herbert Weiss and a study of the differences between the two versions by Mukala Kadima-Nzuji and Jean-Pierre Orban. The author also published a book on the rise and fall of Patrice Lumumba.
Who it is for
For reading the barely fictionalised story of one of the first intellectuals of the independent Congo.
Prizes and reception
No known review of the first edition, in French or in English.