Amputated Memory - Werewere Liking

Translated by Marjolijn de Jager. Afterword by Michelle Mielly.
ISBN: 978-1-55861-555-7
Publication Date: 12-01-2007
Pinned between the political ambitions of her philandering father, the colonial and global influences of encroaching and exploitive governments, and the traditions of her Cameroon village, Halla Njoké recalls childhood traumas and reconstructs forgotten experiences to reclaim her sense of self. “Werewere Liking’s novel or ‘chant-roman’ is a truly remarkable achievement illustrating the potential of African literature to renew and regenerate its forms. Through innovative and fully successful use of traditional songs, praise-naming, lullaby, letters and myth, the novel is unique in its form.” —The 25th Noma Award for Publishing in Africa “With The Amputated Memory, her fifth novel, francophone Cameroonian artist Werewere Liking confirms her great lyrical talent while still probing into a collective and familial past…Like its multifaceted author, the saga…stands at the crossroads of genres and traditions…[and] takes on the destiny of an entire nation through the life of the heroine.” —Michell Mielly, from the Afterword

[an opportunity to look more broadly at Werewere, Village Ki-Yi M'Bock]