The Dark Child

　　The Dark Child is a vivid and graceful memoir of Camara Laye's youth in the village of Kouroussa, French Guinea, a place steeped in mystery. Laye marvels over his mother's supernatural powers, his father's distinction as the village goldsmith, and his own passage into manhood, which is marked by animistic beliefs and bloody rituals. Eventually, he must choose between this unique place and the academic success that lures him to distant cities.

　　More than autobiography of one boy, this is the universal story of sacred traditions struggling against the encroachment of a modern world. A passionate and deeply affecting record, The Dark Child is a classic of African literature.

作者簡介

　　A native of French Guinea, Camara Laye was still in his twenties and studying engineering in France when he wrote The Dark Child. Long regarded as Africa's pre-eminent Francophone novelist, he died in Senegal in 1980.