Episode 29|2 : Small Country

Searching for Justice: Proust and the Dreyfus Affair – Les Bookworms

We're back on the Proust train. This episode covers the first chapter of Volume 3 – The Guermantes Way (Le Côté de Guermantes). We focus on the Dreyfus Affair and its role in French society at the time of Proust and today.

1. Searching for Justice: Proust and the Dreyfus Affair 40:50
2. Through the Pages of Time 55:01
3. In Search of Lost Podcasts: Les Bookworms Revival 28:08
4. 2 Down 5 to Go: Reflections on Volume II of Proust 30:07
5. A mix of gumption and courage: Paris memoirs 26:56

Overview

Small Country by Gael Faye (2016) describes the life of a small boy living in Burundi in a period of relative peace, when his innocence is brutally lost after the coup d’état that sends the country into lawlessness and war. It’s an incredibly beautiful novel about childhood and the intersection of growth and tragedy. In this episode, we discuss innocence, interconnectedness of culture and colonial identity. 

Country

Burundi

Overarching Themes

1. Innocence
2. Interconnectedness of culture in Central Africa
3. Colonial identity

How does this book question the idea of the Francophonie? (Does it go against the grain? Does it stay stereotypical?) 

It absolutely expands the Francophonie. This book is a modern story that happened so recently and involves so many different aspects of what it means to be French in different contexts. It touches like many of the other books this season on the lingering colonial imagination real and imagined. I learned so much from this short novel and then continued my research after because these are events I know happened but didn’t know the full stories behind them. Faye is an amazing representation of the Francophonie.

Episode 28|2: L’aventure ambiguë

Searching for Justice: Proust and the Dreyfus Affair – Les Bookworms

We're back on the Proust train. This episode covers the first chapter of Volume 3 – The Guermantes Way (Le Côté de Guermantes). We focus on the Dreyfus Affair and its role in French society at the time of Proust and today.

1. Searching for Justice: Proust and the Dreyfus Affair 40:50
2. Through the Pages of Time 55:01
3. In Search of Lost Podcasts: Les Bookworms Revival 28:08
4. 2 Down 5 to Go: Reflections on Volume II of Proust 30:07
5. A mix of gumption and courage: Paris memoirs 26:56

Aperçu du livre

Ce roman explore l’aventure de trouver votre identité, vu par notre héros Samba qui vient d’un pays d’Afrique (basé au Sénégal) mais prend le voyage à Paris pour poursuivre ses études supérieures. Là- bas, il découvrit les grandes différences entre l’occident et l’afrique. Le roman explore les thèmes de modernité et la négritude ou nationalisme de l’Afrique. 

Pays

la France et le Senegal

Les thèmes déterminants

1. L’écrivain et la negritude
2. l’Afrique contre l’Ouest
3. La philosophie et la religion

Comment ce livre raviver, approfondir, ou contester ton idée de la francophonie?

Ce roman approfondit et conteste la francophonie de deux façons. Tout d’abord le sujet présente puis l’écrivain lui-même. Kane est devenu une légende de la littérature africaine. Ce roman explore l’héritage et la réalité de la francophonie. La discussion nous interroge sur l’identité collective, la structure de la colonisation culturelle et idéologique qui influencent toujours notre compréhension du monde. Cela provoque une duplicité d’identité pour Samba et des milliers des autres.