A review by siria
A Long Way from Douala: A Novel by Max Lobe

emotional sad tense

2.75

In A Long Way from Douala, teenage Jean and his friend (and secret crush) Simon team up to try to find Jean's brother Roger, who has run away from home in the aftermath of their father's death in the hope of making it to Europe. Max Lobe provides a vivid picture of life in contemporary Cameroon, and I liked the rhythms of his dialogue and his use of Camfranglais (a slang mash-up of French, English, and indigeneous African languages). Yet as a coming-of-age novel it never quite... well, comes of age. And while Jean's sexism and transphobia aren't that surprising, given that he's a repressed teenager raised in an explicitly patriarchal evangelical Christian household, the continual misogyny and vitriol made for a wearying read. 
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