more photos (1)

Camara Laye’s Followers (107)

Camara Laye

Born

in Kouroussa, Guinea

January 01, 1928

Died

February 04, 1980

Genre

Literature & Fiction

edit data

During his time at college he wrote The African Child (L'Enfant noir), a novel based loosely on his own childhood. He would later become a writer of many essays and was a foe of the government of Guinea. His novel The Radiance of the King (Le Regard du roi) is considered to be one of his most important works.

He was born Malinke (a Mandé speaking ethnicity) into a caste that traditionally worked as blacksmiths and goldsmiths. His family name is Camara, and following the tradition of his community, it precedes his given name—Laye. His mother was from the village of Tindican, and his immediate childhood surroundings were not predominantly influenced by French culture. He attended both the Koranic and French elementary schools in Kouroussa. At During his time at college he wrote The African Child (L'Enfant noir), a novel based loosely on his own childhood. He would later become a writer of many essays and was a foe of the government of Guinea. His novel The Radiance of the King (Le Regard du roi) is considered to be one of his most important works.

He was born Malinke (a Mandé speaking ethnicity) into a caste that traditionally worked as blacksmiths and goldsmiths. His family name is Camara, and following the tradition of his community, it precedes his given name—Laye. His mother was from the village of Tindican, and his immediate childhood surroundings were not predominantly influenced by French culture. He attended both the Koranic and French elementary schools in Kouroussa. At age fifteen he went to Conakry, capital of Guinea, to continue his education. He attended vocational studies in motor mechanics. In 1947, he travelled to Paris to continue studies in mechanics. There he worked and took further courses in engineering and worked towards the baccalauréat.

In 1953, he published his first novel, L'Enfant noir (The African Child, 1954, also published under the title The Dark Child), an autobiographical story, which narrates in the first person a journey from childhood in Kouroussa, through challenges in Conakry, to France. The book won the Prix Charles Veillon in 1954. L'Enfant noir was followed by Le Regard du roi (1954; The Radiance of the King, 1956). These two novels are among the very earliest major works in francophone African literature.The Radiance of the King was described by Kwame Anthony Appiah as "One of the greatest of the African novels of the colonial period."
In 1956, Camara returned to Africa, first to Dahomey (now Benin), then Gold Coast (now Ghana) and then to newly independent Guinea, where he held government posts. In 1965, he left Guinea for Dakar, Senegal because of political issues, never to return. In 1966 his third novel, Dramouss (A Dream of Africa, 1968), was published. In 1978 his fourth and final work was published, Le Maître de la parole - Kouma Lafôlô Kouma (The Guardian of the Word, 1980), based on a Malian epic, as told by the griot Babou Condé, about the famous Sundiata Keita (also spelled Sunjata), the thirteenth-century founder of the Mali Empire.

Camara died in 1980 in Dakar, Senegal of a kidney infection. ...more

Combine Editions
Camara Laye’s books

Average rating: 3.8 · 3,055 ratings · 363 reviews · 11 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Dark Child by Camara Laye, James Kirkup (Translator), Ernest Jones (Translator) 3.71 avg rating — 2,527 ratings — published 1953 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Radiance of the King by Camara Laye, James Kirkup (Translator) 3.85 avg rating — 787 ratings — published 1954 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Granta Book of the African Short Story by Helon Habila (Editor), Fatou Diome (Contributor), Laila Lalami (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 3.87 avg rating — 374 ratings — published 2011 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Guardian of the Word by Camara Laye, James Kirkup (Translator) 3.74 avg rating — 35 ratings — published 1978 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Dream of Africa 3.53 avg rating — 30 ratings — published 1966 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Na południe od Sahary. Opowiadania afrykańskie by S.F. Aboderin, Peter Henry Abrahams, Adolph Agbadja 4.50 avg rating — 4 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	El nen negre (Lo Marraco) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Afrikali Cocuk it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The African Child it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	CHILDHOOD MEMORIES OF CAMARA LAYE 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Camara Laye…

Quotes by Camara Laye (?)

“Investment fraud is growing hugely and I advice the public to stay away from these fraudulent companies. For those who are victims to this scams like myself, I strongly recommend you to approach DAREK RECOVERY. I invested almost $270,000 and was unable to get my hard earn money back from an unregulated company that kept demanding for more deposits. Darek Recovery has successfully recovered investment for their clients. I have hired them as well and they did not disappoint, they recovered all of my money at no upfront cost. You can reach them on recoverydarek@gmail.com If you are also a victim .”
― Camara Laye

0 likes

Polls

What book would you like to read in July 2025?

The Dark Child, by Camara Laye
(192 pages)

26 votes, 44.1%

Party Going by Henry Green
(176 pages)

21 votes, 35.6%

Intimacy, by Hanif Kureishi
(252 pages)

12 votes, 20.3%

59 total votes

1 comment

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Seasonal Read...: WINTER CHALLENGE 2009-2010 COMPLETED TASKS	3143	3262	Feb 28, 2010 09:02PM
The Next Best Boo...: Lisa T - Trekker	41	174	Sep 17, 2011 03:00PM
The Next Best Boo...: Diane -- Frequent Flyer	129	517	Sep 28, 2011 07:02PM
Around the World: Kimberly's Challenge List	52	104	Dec 28, 2012 04:41AM
Around the World: Kimberly's 2013 List	14	56	Jan 21, 2013 08:20PM
Around the World: Philly Beth's 2013 Around the World	15	66	Mar 18, 2013 07:43AM
Around the World ...: Annie W - Frequent Flyer 2013	68	100	Dec 12, 2013 10:17AM

More…

Camara Laye’s Followers (107)

Camara Laye

Combine EditionsCamara Laye’s books

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

Combine Editions
Camara Laye’s books