Author:Ahmadou Kourouma,Frank Wynne
Ahmadou Kourouma's remarkable novel is narrated by Bingo, a West African sora - storyteller and king's fool. Over the course of five nights he tells the life story of Koyaga, President and Dictator of the Gulf Coast. Orphaned at the age of seven, Koyaga grows up to be a terrible hunter; he fights mythical beasts, and is a shape-shifter, capable of changing himself into beasts and birds. He fights in the French colonial armies, in Vietnam and Algeria, but on his return he mounts a coup and becomes ruler and dictator of the Gulf Coast. For thirty years he runs a corrupt but 'clean' state, surviving repeated assassination attempts and gaining support and investment from abroad. But when the 'First World' decides it no longer want to support dictatorships and call for democracy, he needs another ruse to maintain himself in power...
Part magic, part history, part savage satire, Waiting for the Wild Beasts to Vote is nothing less than a history of post-colonial Africa itself.
This is a tour de force - original, irreverent, brutal, funny, poetic - in which history and myth are brilliantly evoked
—— Margaret Busby , IndependentA brilliant, often hilarious, political satire
—— Daily TelegraphA thoroughgoing indictment of the African way of leadership
—— GuardianWitty and wholly authentic chronicle of black African atrocity... Spellbinding
—— SpectatorOne of the most powerful, funniest and richest novels written in French this decade
—— Le Nouvel ObservateurA fast-moving novel about office affairs. The unusual feature of Kellaway's writing is the witty way in which she challenges established mores
—— Daily TelegraphAstute
—— Marie ClaireAcutely observed
—— ElleHe has wit, style, and panache, in a world where those qualities are in permanently short supply
—— The New York Review of BooksA book which creates a world and explores it in depth, which ponders changing relationships and values, which creates brilliantly living and diverse characters and then watches them grow and change in their milieu ... Powell's world is as large and as complex as Proust's.
—— New York Times[A] comic masterpiece
—— Irish TimesComic, satisfying, thought-provoking, addictive
—— The TelegraphIt's his supreme skill in mastering a lengthily interwoven chronicle, the evolution of such a range and variety of pin-point characters, the wit and the cultural ambition that give the novel a unique place in English Literature.
—— Melvyn BraggIt's full of insights and recognisable characters. Remarkable.
—— Loyd Grossman , Daily ExpressWonderfully observed and true, funny, stylistically dazzling and soothing and long enough to take one through any lockdown.
—— Matthew Kneale , The TimesA passionate, hilarious look at mid-twentieth-century Britain.
—— Jeremy Paxman , Gentleman's JournalSomething I know I love ... Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time, which I could read endlessly.
—— Tracey Thorn , Daily MailI’m bowled over, hooked and, hurrah, there are 11 more volumes to go as Jenkins grows up. Terrific.
—— Daily MailA highly accomplished debut, this is a chilling portrait of racial tension, social immorality, betrayal and love, and also an atmospheric examination of the end of innocence.
—— The Lady MagazineThe writing is strong and though the sections featuring Gay's earlier life lose momentum, the story picks up pace when the girls' paths become entwined and the conclusion is compelling and thrillingly macabre.
—— TelegraphThis fictional account of a true story gives a darkly shocking version of the events surrounding this tragic case.
—— Good Book GuideBrilliantly melds a factual post-war murder into a dark fictional tale
—— Telegraph
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