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A review by mellon89
Mémoires de porc-épic by Alain Mabanckou
3.0
Written in the same format as Mabanckou's Verre Cassé (no punctuation other than commas, missing chapter titles), this is a folkloric tale of Kibandi and his double, a porcupine. The narrator of the tale is the porcupine itself, who tells us from the beginning that he has, to his surprise, outlived his master and is sure that he will soon die as well. He takes refuge at the base of a baobab and tells his story: how he became a "nuisible" or double, becoming bonded to Kibandi as his master, carrying out Kibandi's bidding, and Kibandi's spiral out of control leading to his death.
Interesting themes that I would like to discuss further: the humans from the animals' point of view, the view of Kibandi's village of the "white man" that comes in to document their rituals, the idea of having the nuisible as well as "un autre lui-même," the use of the folklore/fairy tale writing, and how it links to Verre Cassé (since in fact these two books are part of a trilogy planned by the author).
Interesting themes that I would like to discuss further: the humans from the animals' point of view, the view of Kibandi's village of the "white man" that comes in to document their rituals, the idea of having the nuisible as well as "un autre lui-même," the use of the folklore/fairy tale writing, and how it links to Verre Cassé (since in fact these two books are part of a trilogy planned by the author).