Reviews

Loin de Douala by Lobe Max

elloelliot's review against another edition

adventurous reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

morebedsidebooks's review against another edition

3.0

Can someone explain to us why people are so desperate to go. What are they running away from? Since we left Douala, you’ve seen with your own eyes how beautiful the country is, how rich. We have everything here, and I mean everything, but even so, people prefer to go, even if they have to die on the way, even if they’re going to be treated like animals over there, all they want is to go.

 

A Long Way from Douala by queer author Max Lobe, translated with an eye on the mesh of language and abounding slang by Ros Schwartz, is road trip novel of two friends search for an older brother who has plans to leave Cameroon to pursue football. 

Somewhere along the path this colorful book takes winding from the port city of Doaula to the far northern city Maroua, and back and forth in time, I felt the older brother Roger was completely right in deciding to go. It is dangerous, yes. Maybe his common dream of footballing in Europe will like for so many be out of reach. An émigré is in for harsh experiences too. Still, I wouldn’t stay a minute longer with the way things are with his family in Douala after his father dies either. Which makes for conflict in following the journey his younger brother Jean and friend Simon are on to find Roger and make him change his mind. Also, readers take this trip in the mind of Jean. A sensitive yet also vulgar teenage boy wrestling with not only his attraction to his longtime friend Simon as he tries to shoo away his feelings while reciting Bible verses, but strong disdain towards almost every woman (including a trans woman sex worker) the two encounters. A serious student favoured by his parents with little worldly experience, Jean obviously has a lot of room to learn and grow. At times it is his jealousy or other complicated feelings at play. But I’m tired of gay characters who come off as misogynistic. This book has been promoted as “hilarious” and a “raucous journey” with “remarkable humor and levity”. Laughter breaks out often in the book. But I sadly must have missed the jokes. His abusive mother is also suddenly in the latter part revealed to have a tragic backstory. Yet rather than an affecting revelation, it felt like a ploy to explain away her terrible behaviour. Though it might fit in with the violence begetting violence that is all around. 

In the end I was thinking too of another work by an author from Cameroon I have read,  Don’t Whisper Too Much and Portrait of a Young Artiste from Bona Mbella by Frieda Ekotto. No wonder apparently so many dream far off dreams. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Death of parent

Moderate: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Misogyny, Alcohol, Transphobia, Cursing, Homophobia, Rape, and Sexual content

Minor: Trafficking, Abortion, Blood, Car accident, Racism, Antisemitism, and Animal death

Terrorism is an overreaching concern.

dtalako's review against another edition

adventurous funny informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

worthleyv's review against another edition

adventurous reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Transphobia

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Antisemitism, Fatphobia, Islamophobia, and Racism

jade_valenzuela's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

An critical, funny and sometimes bleak look at life in Cameroon as one boy and his friend travel across the country in search of the main character’s brother who runs off after their father dies. It’s a novel full of self exploration, love, anger and hope. 

erinshinereads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

raphaelle_a's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I’ve never read a book that ended on the most unsatisfactory cliff hanger before this one.

Being from Cameroon, I was really interested in reading from a Cameroonian author I had never heard of before. This book to me was a satirical way of exposing the ridiculousness of the Cameroonian way of living, as well as the exploitation and abuse Cameroonians turn to for remedy as opposed to fostering real change. The underlying nod at the rejection of any sexual orientation other than heterosexual was also very loud. Especially when it seems that the main characters may very well have similar longings and yet a deep hatred for those desires.

I am giving this book a 3 stars because to me it did not add anything to the conversation about what is wrong with Cameroon. It seemed like a recollection of a wild story someone lived, but without any kind of interesting ending. This was more an overall critique of a regime than anything else. I know it’s supposed to be a fictional book, but it seemed to be very light on the fiction.

I would have loved to get more of Roger’s side. What did he go through? Why did he convert? How were his few days in the North that seemed to be so different and at the antipodes of Douala? I think that would’ve added to the story a lot.

I also believe that anyone picking this book up should get it in the French translation if possible, because I really think a lot of the authors “voice” was lost in translation. Overall, a very easy, one seating read!

amyjo25's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

anges_book_chatter's review against another edition

challenging funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

stormymonday's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75