In the Belly of the Congo
-
- $13.99
-
- $13.99
Publisher Description
A sweeping historical novel and an intergenerational family saga about the mysterious disappearance of a Congolese princess and the niece who is determined to uncover her fate more than four decades later, by the internationally acclaimed and award-winning Congolese Canadian author Blaise Ndala.
April 1958. Princess Tshala Nyota, daughter of King Kena Kwete III of the Kuba people in Congo, is among the eleven “villagers” put on display at the 1958 World’s Fair in Brussels. After the humiliation of the Nazi occupation, the royal palace is determined to restore the Belgian colonial empire’s honor and prestige by showcasing the successful “civilization” of Congo, Belgium’s “model colony,” at one of the biggest international events since the end of the Second World War.
The young princess recounts her journey from her home of Kasaï to a Catholic school run by nuns, where she meets and falls madly in love with a handsome Belgian administrator. But when her father discovers the affair, his fury cannot be contained. Fearing for her life and his own, Tshala’s lover sends her to Léopoldville to stay with his friend, a collector and dealer specializing in African art. In the capital, she is immersed in a world pulsing with youth, sex, energy, and hope for the new independent republic. But when Tshala is betrayed by her lover’s friend, she is sent to Brussels and her forced exhibition at Expo ’58. Soon after, she mysteriously disappears.
August 2003. Nyota Kwete, the princess’s niece, is sent to Brussels to continue her education at the university. Before she departs, her father charges her with the task of discovering the fate of the missing princess. In Brussels, she is welcomed by the Congolese diaspora community and crosses paths with a Belgian scholar who is haunted by his own ghosts. Together, they uncover important secrets that were taken to the grave.
In this internationally acclaimed and award-winning novel, Congolese Canadian author Blaise Ndala examines Belgium and Congo’s colonial past and current legacy through the lives of two unforgettable women, connected by family and history across continents and decades.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Blaise Ndala’s heartfelt historical novel reminds us that we can’t be comfortable in the present till we’ve reckoned with our past. In 1958, when the Congo is still a Belgian colony, teenager Princess Tshala strikes up a relationship with a Belgian official, prompting her father to send her away to the capital, where she’s roped into a horribly exploitative exhibit at the Brussels World’s Fair. (Believe it or not, that exhibit really happened!) In a second storyline, Tshala’s niece Nyota travels to Brussels in 2003, hoping to solve the family mystery about what became of her aunt. Ndala’s passionate prose enlivens this complex saga, dropping us right in the middle of tense politics and sweeping romance. Making us see through Nyota’s eyes, the author helps us grasp the true weight of colonial ruthlessness and the enduring power of family bonds. Full of tragedy and hope, In the Belly of the Congo will stick with you.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Ndala's stimulating if mannered English-language debut, an 18-year-old Congolese princess falls in love with an older Belgian colonial administrator in 1958. Tshala Nyota Moelo's hand has already been promised to another, and to escape the ire of her father, King Kena Kwete III, for following her heart, her lover René Comhaire, 32, sends her to safety in Leopoldville, Belgian Congo's capital. However, Tshala is raped by an art collector who then sends her against her will to Europe, for the infamous "human zoo" at Belgium's Expo 58, where a Congolese village has been set up to display native people. The spirited Tshala, however, refuses to be a spectacle, and she leads a mutiny that ends in tragedy. Ndala then jumps ahead 45 years, with Tshala's family still wondering what happened to her. Her niece, also named Tshala Nyota Moelo, meets Francis Dumont, the son of an Expo 58 sub commissioner in Brussels, and the two visit the former king on his deathbed in the Congo, where Dumont reveals the truth of what happened to the princess. Though the narration is occasionally prosaic and the dialogue a bit too rhapsodic, Ndala digs deep into themes of love, colonialism, and fate. Despite a few bumps, it should interest fans of postcolonial African lit.
