Before you read the
book, God's Bits of Wood seems a strange title. I think it is because it is a
reference that is native to West Africa. As you continue to read, you think to
yourself that there was no title better than this.
Sembène, my goodness!
I will tell you that I was drawn into the descriptions
like a scientist with magnifying glass captivated by the subjects and
happenings on the slide in his hand. He's a tailor that weaves a cloth so
intricate and great that this is more than skill. There is gift.
His descriptions immediately draw you in. You can see
sunsets in his words. You can see loss, betrayal, rejection in high definition
just in the way he describes things. I was in amazement.
The story is set in Senegal but is not limited to one
place. In fact there are no chapters in the novel. Only names of cities and
people. It is a tale that describes places and people with details. It alludes
to places as bodies with parts, those parts the lives of the people in them and
how they interact. It's like Senegal becomes a person and the cities mentioned
different parts contributing to her movement.
The stories of the people at first seem subjective
however, the more the story proceeds, we come to see how long a thread Sembene
is using. Everyone is tied in to each other, at least from the eyes of the
reader.
It contributes to the title being meaningful, "God's
Bits of Wood", the pieces that make His house.
There is no character in the book that will not impact
you. From Ad'jibid'ji, to Fa Keita, to Niakoro, to Bakayoko, to Penda and
Ramatoulaye. Each character is so unique and yet adds to the wholeness of the
tale. While Bakayoko might seem the most prominent figure in the tale because
of his ability to cause major change in cities and in people's lives, the other
characters also hold their ground.
I particularly found the build up very convincing.
Histories, enmities, intentions, disappointments all woven together, or may I
say, built together to build the house in the end we see.
The book is another story about a struggle of liberation
in An African state from colonialism. In this case, it is not a struggle for
political independence in the aspect of building new government and the like.
It is a simple yet complex matter. Labour rights.
The Africans are paid less than their French counterparts,
do not have family allowance, retirement benefits and leave benefits. They
attempted a strike before and were crushed. This story is like a second attempt
at a strike. What at first seems like a hasty decision, slowly moves into
something that holds societies together, creating new problems but also new
bonds.
So many different issues are highlighted. Polygamy,
religion, education, equality, loss, war etc. How Sembene touches all these
things in such a little volume is amazing.
I have read books where some characters clearly stand out
but in this one, the hero is not really the hero. The struggle is held together
by different bits of wood. In fact, it could be referred to as a fire not even
a house.
The women touched me immensely. There is a blind woman
Maimouna, who shows she sees more than those with eyes, in fact one of her
songs sets a theme for many parts of the book such as fighting oppression
without hating oppressors. Penda, the prostitute who is ready to die for a
struggle more than the moral. A wife who is bound by duty and tradition. A
young girl Ad'jibid'ji who knows and reasons better than her elders and men.
There are so many of them that impacted me. One of the turning points in the
story is because of collective action by the women.
Relationships between the French and African are described
as almost non existent. The French live in their own part of the city as do the
black and look down on the latter. Some have tried to understand the black but failed
and turned that into contempt.
It's such a rich read evoking deep feelings when
unexpected events happen. I at one point almost shouted at Sembene wondering
why he had done what he had done!
I have not read such a delightful piece of literature in a
while, and to think it is about a strike is equally astonishing.
-
Joel Benjamin Benjamin
(Courtesy
of goodreads)
