Read African Writers: Told by Starlight in Chad, by Joseph Brahim Seid

Joseph Brahim Seid, a writer and politician (he was Minister of Justice for nearly a decade) from the Republic of Chad, wrote a collection of folktales in the early 1960s — Told by Starlight in Chad. “I invite you, dear reader, to come and sit with us, under a blue sky strewn with stars, to listen to these stories and legends, which tell of marvels and wonders. We ask only one thing: that you share in the joy of our candor and our innocence.”

This collection of 14 tales is a delight. In one (“The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, Hidden under an Ass’ Skin”), a woman gives birth to a donkey, but a beautiful girl is hidden under the donkey skin. One boy sees the beauty and proposes marriage, to the initial ridicule and ultimate acclaim of all. In another, reminiscent of Hansel and Gretel (“Gamar and Guimerie”), two siblings are chased off by a wicked stepmother but then rescue a monster in exchange for great riches. In “Nidjema, the Little Orphan Girl,” the titular character seeks to escape a terrible home environment and encounters terrible monsters and even death itself. In my favorite, “The Magic Cap, Purse and Cane,” a young man seeks the hand of a sultan’s daughter. He is treated horribly despite his access to various magic items, and the ending of the story manages to surprise.

The translation into English by Karen Haire Hoenig, published in 2007, has its own story. Hoenig’s father nearly completed a translation of the book, but after he passed away, the manuscript was lost. As a labor of love, his daughter took up the task.

This is book #46 in my effort to read a book by an author from every African country in 2019. You can read reviews of all the books here.