Nation Building, Propaganda and Literature in Francophone Africa (review)

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Despite the extended coverage suggested by its title, 77 this is in fact a highly focused work dealing primarily with the 78 postindependence writing in 79 the Congo Republic, in particular the work of Sony Labou Tansi, Henri 80 Lopes, and Emmanuel 81 Dongala, a focus that reflects an acknowledgement on the author's part of 82 "the territorial 83 imperative" as a determinant of what he calls the "similar sociological 84 circumstances" that 85 account for the specific thematic and formal orientations of their 86 work. The restricted scope 87 of the study thus represents an advantage insofar as it enables Dominic 88 Thomas to propose 89 in-depth readings of the works of these writers, against the background 90 of the tumultuous 91 history of the Congo Republic since independence. At the same time, 92 Thomas suggests that this 93 local history, in all its intensity, is in fact representative of the 94 broader evolution of 95 African political and social life in the past four decades or so.

The 96 point of departure of 97 Thomas's examination of Congolese literature is the premise of "nation 98 building," on which the 99 book's thesis revolves. This term is to be understood here in a wide 100 sense, to mean not merely 101 the effort to employ literature as a means of generating a national 102 consciousness, but also, 103 and more significantly, as a mode of critical engagement with the 104 vicissitudes of the nation's 105 history, as the principal actors involved in its fortunes wrestle with 106 the problems that attend 107 its formation and development. It is in this context that literature 108 assumes a strategic value, 109 as a mode of discourse charged with varieties of social meaning. The 110 writings of Eta-Onka, 111 discussed at some length by Thomas, afford an illustration of the 112 propaganda uses of literature 113 promoted by official policy. Given its limitations in both aesthetic 114 and political terms, one 115 wonders what place this kind of writing really occupied in the development 116 of Congolese 117 literature, beyond its minimal interest as a feeble counterpoise to the 118 more serious work of 119 the three writers with which this study is mainly concerned.

Sony 120 Labou Tansi, the first of 121 these writers considered by Thomas, has been the object of so much 122 critical attention that it 123 seems hardly possible 124 125 126 127 to offer any new insights into his work. However, in the long 128 chapter that he devotes to this work, Thomas conveys a sense not only 129 of Sony's originality but 130 also of the coherence and moral significance of his work. Indeed, this 131 is the most extensive 132 examination I have encountered of this enigmatic writer. It is helpful 133 to this examination that 134 Thomas provides a comprehensive portrait of Tabou Lansi built up from 135 biographical details, the 136 writer's professional career and cultural activities, as well as 137 interviews and the general 138 reception of his work, in addition to the testimony afforded by his 139 plays and novels. In his 140 reading of the latter, Thomas seems to be especially preoccupied with 141 the relation of fiction 142 to reality, a question that raised in an acute way by the singular 143 character of Sony's 144 imaginative projections and his highly individual style. But perhaps 145 the more pertinent 146 question here is the extent to which the extravagance of the writing 147 serves Sony's moral 148 purpose, for it is...