Images et mirages des migrations dans les littératures et les cinémas d’Afrique francophone ed. by Françoise Naudillon, Jean Ouédraogo (review)

épure, ce qui renforce le sentiment d’un montage idéologique donnant de la réalité une vision construite intellectuellement. Néanmoins, c’est cette déconstruction du temps qui donne au film toute sa force. University of Louisiana, Lafayette Panagnimba Parfait Bonkoungou NAUDILLON, FRANÇOISE, et JEAN OUÉDRAOGO, éd. Images et mirages des migrations dans les littératures et les cinémas d’Afrique francophone. Montréal: Mémoire d’encrier, 2011. ISBN 978-2-923713-40-3. Pp. 218. $29,50 Can. Displacement, exile, immigration: these sources of strife, both local and global, appear on a regular basis in the news media as well as the arts. Additionally, the related themes of space, identity, and hybridity are also topics currently of interest to scholars studying Francophone literature and film. Yet if such weighty concerns are certainly à la mode in these first decades of the new millennium, this does not necessarily signify that they are new, nor that researchers have yet fully unpacked their complexity, as Naudillon and Ouédraogo demonstrate in their co-edited essay collection. Spanning the time from pre-Independence to the early 2000s, countries from the Maghreb to West Africa and beyond, and even continents (Haiti and Martinique have their place, as does Western Europe), this collection of twelve essays pursues myriad avenues of inquiry into the issues surrounding various forms of migration. Moreover, it provides a valuable introduction not only to some dominant themes of African literature and film, but also a vast array of filmmakers and writers, from the well-known (among them Ousmane Sembène, Tahar Ben Jelloun, Yamina Benguigui, Laurent Cantet, Dany Laferrière, and Fatou Diome) to the less familiar, at least to this reviewer (including but not limited to Éliane de Latour, Naceur Ktari, Farida Benlyazid, and Henri Lopès). Readers will appreciate that the collection seems to make an effort to represent both genders, although the balance still tips in favor of men. The essays take a variety of approaches to the topic of (im)migration, all of which in some way answer the following questions: Who goes where? Why? What are the consequences? These queries are addressed at times with singleauthor studies, such as Névine El Nossey’s work on the textual and geographical topography of the desert in two texts by Malika Mokeddem, or Mhana Amrani’s commentary on the role of humor in tackling the serious issue of “repatriation assistance” in Mahmoud Zemmouri’s film Prends 10 000 balles et casse-toi. Other essays adopt a comparative approach, for example Clément Dessy’s look at African students’ first encounters with Paris in narratives by Ousmane Socé and Aké Loba. Also notable in this vein and representative of the collection’s title are texts penned by Jean Ouédraogo, Yolaine Parisot, Françoise Naudillon, and Stéphanie Bérard, all of whom juxtapose literature and film. Finally, some authors take a more panoramic view, particularly filmmaker Monique Crouillère in her helpful piece, “Cinéma africain et immigration,” which opens the collection with an excellent overview of African Francophone cinema. Although the essays are not always linked in terms of critical approach, geography, time period, or genre, a certain number of themes recur. As stated above, each piece asks who travels where and why. Some involve the exode rural in-country, others the harrowing trip to Europe. Some address the return home, Reviews 625 raising along the way the thorny question of just what and where “home” is. The question of identity also surfaces many times, as does that of intra- and extratextual space, whether physical, mental, or both. A number of studies contrast West and North Africa, and a few bring up the question of Francophonie versus une littérature-monde. A multidisciplinary perspective allows for the exploration of nationalism, globalization, integration, hybridity, and multiculturalism, which the authors handle with considerable insight and skill. Images and Mirages represents a welcome addition to the field of Francophone studies that is sure to interest novices and experts alike. University of the Cumberlands (KY) Laura Dennis PANH, RITHY, réal. Duch ou le maître des forges de l’enfer. CDP, 2012. Le 3 f...