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Told by Starlight in Chad
"In the evening, there are traditional games. Excitement fills the air; a tumult is unleashed. The drums reverberate, roar, summon to the dance. Their staccato boom echoes through the savannah and over the rolling, sandy hills. The young perform war dances, competing in strength, agility and skill. Simulating combat, they brandish their assegais, crouch, rise up and face off in rapid succession. They stamp the ground furiously with their a cloud of dust envelops them in a tremendous halo of glory. All this time, the tom-toms are vibrating, their frenzy marvelously matching the dancers movements. Rhythm of life, captivating, lyrical, spellbinding magic! With fertile, protean imagination, griot and bard recite the prowess and deeds of their distant ancestors or sing of the beauty and charms of their betrothed." Romantized scenes from Seid's boyhood, like the festival depicted here, as well as stories from the golden age of empires and other timeless tales in this collection evoke positive images of Chad and Africa more generally. African readers, young and old, regardless of locality, will hear echoes of the folktales, fables, and legends narrated by their grandmothers of an evening under the stars or by the fireside. In the literature classroom, at secondary and tertiary level, Seid's imagery should resonate and appeal to the sensibilities of African learners from similar socio-cultural and historical environments. This same imagery can, in turn, be used to introduce non-African learners to Africa. On a continent grappling still to forge new beginnings out of hope and deep despair, cruelty and great humanity, reminders of the past that evoke positive affect and historical figures and events that inspire a sense of pride about being African can enhance endeavor. Born in N Djamena, Chad in 1927, of Sara Gor-Bulala parentage, Joseph Brahim Seid received his primary education in French colonial schools in N Djamena and Braazaville, Congo and secondary educatio
82 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1962
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About the author
Joseph Brahim Seid
2 books3 followersJoseph Brahim Seid was a Chadian writer and politician. He served as Minister of Justice from 1966 to 1975.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
July 22, 2022
Reading across Africa- Chad 🇹🇩
October 25, 2008
Told by Starlight in Chad is a collection of stories by Chadian writer Joseph Brahim Seid, translated from French by Karen Haire Hoenig. I’ve tagged this post with ’short stories’ but they aren’t really short stories in the literary tradition: they are fables or folk tales in the oral tradition. I’m not sure whether they are all traditional stories or new ones, or how true they are to the way the stories might be ‘told by starlight’.
In some ways the material seems very familiar — wicked stepmothers, magic purses, and beautiful princesses — although the stories feature hyenas and gazelles rather than foxes and rabbits. Sometimes the stories end with a moral or an explanation of the ‘and that’s why we do so-and-so’ type, and sometimes they are, as far as I can tell, just stories.
Just to give you an idea of the style, here’s the opening to a story called Bidi-Camoun, Tchourouma’s Horse.
A very long time ago, in the days when miracles and wonders were still common among us, a little prince was born in the kingdom of Lake Fitri. Tchourouma was his name; noone knew the reason why. His father loved him dearly and his mother adored him. At a very young age, they had given him as a gift Bidi-Camoun, a splendid chestnut horse. When Tchourouma had barely reached his fifteenth year, his gentle mother died, snatched away by a cruel disease in her chest, which neither the skill of the fakihs, the fetish doctors nor the Bulala witchdoctors could cure. In memory of his beloved wife, the Sultan retained a great deal of affection for the child. He took him lion hunting and on walks around the lake which is the sanctuary of the ancestral spirits and the safeguard of the kingdom. Devoured with envy by the King’s great fondness for his son, the women of the harem devised plots to kill the child….
All quite interesting and quite enjoyable, though I can’t say I was completely grabbed by it. Told by Starlight in Chad is my book from Chad for the Read The World challenge.
In some ways the material seems very familiar — wicked stepmothers, magic purses, and beautiful princesses — although the stories feature hyenas and gazelles rather than foxes and rabbits. Sometimes the stories end with a moral or an explanation of the ‘and that’s why we do so-and-so’ type, and sometimes they are, as far as I can tell, just stories.
Just to give you an idea of the style, here’s the opening to a story called Bidi-Camoun, Tchourouma’s Horse.
A very long time ago, in the days when miracles and wonders were still common among us, a little prince was born in the kingdom of Lake Fitri. Tchourouma was his name; noone knew the reason why. His father loved him dearly and his mother adored him. At a very young age, they had given him as a gift Bidi-Camoun, a splendid chestnut horse. When Tchourouma had barely reached his fifteenth year, his gentle mother died, snatched away by a cruel disease in her chest, which neither the skill of the fakihs, the fetish doctors nor the Bulala witchdoctors could cure. In memory of his beloved wife, the Sultan retained a great deal of affection for the child. He took him lion hunting and on walks around the lake which is the sanctuary of the ancestral spirits and the safeguard of the kingdom. Devoured with envy by the King’s great fondness for his son, the women of the harem devised plots to kill the child….
All quite interesting and quite enjoyable, though I can’t say I was completely grabbed by it. Told by Starlight in Chad is my book from Chad for the Read The World challenge.
July 4, 2024
I read this book as part of a read-around-the-world challenge. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of Chadian literature available in English. As this is a collection of folk tales it did not give me much understanding of the people or culture of Chad, but I still appreciated this glimpse into their oral tradition.
October 3, 2024
This is a mixed bag of short tales from oral Chad traditions. My overiding thought as I finished is that Chad is a very ancient culture.
July 20, 2021
I found the experience of reading Told by Starlight in Chad really interesting. The writing style is simple and because the stories are the kind that tell the history of a place or a people or are like a fable, even though they weren’t stories I knew, the beats were often familiar. They’re the sort of stories that could’ve been told for generations verbally before being written down as many of them contain some sort of moral or lesson.
There are stories to do with religion, creation, and vengeful gods. There are stories that seem to be based on real historical events – I had to do some googling as there were names of cities and regions of Chad mentioned, how they were created or who ruled them, and they weren’t names I was familiar with. I learnt about the Wadai Empire thanks to this book. An area to the east of Lake Chad that covered present-day Chad and the Central African Republic that was ruled by a sultan in the seventeenth century.
A lot of the stories have an almost fairy-tale quality to them. There are wicked stepmothers, talking animals, giants, kings and princesses. Some stories are sad but most end happily or with those who have suffered getting some sort of justice.
Told by Starlight in Chad is a collection of stories that are like folktales and I found them very easy to read. I also found it interesting to see how while the stories weren’t ones I knew, the kinds of messages they had were ones I learnt from different stories growing up. So while the narrative was different, the morals are universal.
There are stories to do with religion, creation, and vengeful gods. There are stories that seem to be based on real historical events – I had to do some googling as there were names of cities and regions of Chad mentioned, how they were created or who ruled them, and they weren’t names I was familiar with. I learnt about the Wadai Empire thanks to this book. An area to the east of Lake Chad that covered present-day Chad and the Central African Republic that was ruled by a sultan in the seventeenth century.
A lot of the stories have an almost fairy-tale quality to them. There are wicked stepmothers, talking animals, giants, kings and princesses. Some stories are sad but most end happily or with those who have suffered getting some sort of justice.
Told by Starlight in Chad is a collection of stories that are like folktales and I found them very easy to read. I also found it interesting to see how while the stories weren’t ones I knew, the kinds of messages they had were ones I learnt from different stories growing up. So while the narrative was different, the morals are universal.
September 27, 2018
Myths and fables from Chad - we are in the genre of written down oral tradition having been told through the centuries. And these types of stories seem to be of the same sorts across the world. There are stories of creation; How tribes came to be, how villages were founded. Stories of moral; How good and bad leaders lead their countries or tribes, how they treat others. And there are stories reminiscent of Grimm's Fairy Tales of the evil that lurks in the deep dark woods - or the never-ending savanne. I guess one of the things that are obvious from this is that humans tell stories, and no matter where in the the world we are, we have the need to tell stories about where we came from, what is good and evil and warn us of bad and scary places.
February 11, 2022
Around the World Reading Challenge: CHAD
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2.5 rounded down
A collection of short fables and folk stories from Chad, I found this a little underwhelming. Many of the stories are very brief, and don't appear to have a clear message. And many of the ones that did have messages weren't exactly ones I agreed with. Particularly after reading Why Goats Smell Bad and Other Stories from Benin, a collection from Benin with a similar concept, this felt like a much less thorough and engaging read.
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2.5 rounded down
A collection of short fables and folk stories from Chad, I found this a little underwhelming. Many of the stories are very brief, and don't appear to have a clear message. And many of the ones that did have messages weren't exactly ones I agreed with. Particularly after reading Why Goats Smell Bad and Other Stories from Benin, a collection from Benin with a similar concept, this felt like a much less thorough and engaging read.
March 19, 2025
I didn't learn much/if anything about the Sultanates that existed in Chad in school. I learned a bit and the stories were fun. Specifically, Tchouroma's horse, Bidi-Camoun, is the best. However, in another story, Nidjema deserved better.
August 14, 2018
COUNTRY: CHAD
This book is a collection of Chadian folklore – the kinds of stories that are told at night around a campfire (hence the title of the book). There is a world origin story, a Chad foundation story, a “God punishes the world by flooding it” story, a how Islam came to Chad story, and several tales that bear a remarkable resemblance to Western European folktales. My favorite was “The Most Beautiful Girl on Earth, Hidden under an Ass’ Skin,” in which an unmarried woman prays to become pregnant. She does, and she gives birth to an ass’ foal. She raises the foal as her daughter. One day, a little boy hears noise coming from inside their house, and he peeks through a hole in the wall to see a beautiful little girl sitting next to an ass’ skin. He brings her a little cake the next day, and he and the ass’ foal become best friends. When it’s time for him to get married, the boy says he wants to marry the ass, and everyone in the village and in his family objects. It is eventually revealed that the ass is truly a beautiful woman, and the couple are allowed to marry and live happily ever after.
This book is short, and the individual tales are also short and very enjoyable to read. I highly recommend it. It was interesting to read the tales and see correlations to stories that are very familiar to me. There were several stories that resembled Old Testament stories – Moses parting the Red Sea, the Hebrews carrying the Ark of the Covenant through the desert trying to find a land in which to settle, the flood story, and also a story that was a cross between "Hansel and Gretel" and the Joseph story from Genesis, called “Gamar and Guimerie.”
Most of the stories have a "Happy Ever After" kind of ending, except for one - "Nidjema, the Little Orphan Girl" - in which a virtuous orphan is horribly abused by her foster mother. She escapes into a treacherous forest where she encounters many horrific monsters, including Death itself, who refuses to take her and tells her "In this life happiness consists of being virtuous!" He then magically teleports her back to her foster home, where she continues to be both terribly abused and incredibly virtuous. A troubling story.
The most surprising part was how difficult it was to get a copy of this book. I found a copy available at AbeBooks and ordered it, but they refunded my money when they could not find it in their inventory. I attempted to order it directly from the publisher, who also refunded my money when they could not find an available copy. None of the public libraries in my area, and none of the university libraries had it, so I ended up ordering it through my university’s ILL (Interlibrary Loan). The stamp on the copy I received says it came from Texas State University – San Marcos. Way to go TSU – San Marcos!
This book is a collection of Chadian folklore – the kinds of stories that are told at night around a campfire (hence the title of the book). There is a world origin story, a Chad foundation story, a “God punishes the world by flooding it” story, a how Islam came to Chad story, and several tales that bear a remarkable resemblance to Western European folktales. My favorite was “The Most Beautiful Girl on Earth, Hidden under an Ass’ Skin,” in which an unmarried woman prays to become pregnant. She does, and she gives birth to an ass’ foal. She raises the foal as her daughter. One day, a little boy hears noise coming from inside their house, and he peeks through a hole in the wall to see a beautiful little girl sitting next to an ass’ skin. He brings her a little cake the next day, and he and the ass’ foal become best friends. When it’s time for him to get married, the boy says he wants to marry the ass, and everyone in the village and in his family objects. It is eventually revealed that the ass is truly a beautiful woman, and the couple are allowed to marry and live happily ever after.
This book is short, and the individual tales are also short and very enjoyable to read. I highly recommend it. It was interesting to read the tales and see correlations to stories that are very familiar to me. There were several stories that resembled Old Testament stories – Moses parting the Red Sea, the Hebrews carrying the Ark of the Covenant through the desert trying to find a land in which to settle, the flood story, and also a story that was a cross between "Hansel and Gretel" and the Joseph story from Genesis, called “Gamar and Guimerie.”
Most of the stories have a "Happy Ever After" kind of ending, except for one - "Nidjema, the Little Orphan Girl" - in which a virtuous orphan is horribly abused by her foster mother. She escapes into a treacherous forest where she encounters many horrific monsters, including Death itself, who refuses to take her and tells her "In this life happiness consists of being virtuous!" He then magically teleports her back to her foster home, where she continues to be both terribly abused and incredibly virtuous. A troubling story.
The most surprising part was how difficult it was to get a copy of this book. I found a copy available at AbeBooks and ordered it, but they refunded my money when they could not find it in their inventory. I attempted to order it directly from the publisher, who also refunded my money when they could not find an available copy. None of the public libraries in my area, and none of the university libraries had it, so I ended up ordering it through my university’s ILL (Interlibrary Loan). The stamp on the copy I received says it came from Texas State University – San Marcos. Way to go TSU – San Marcos!
January 25, 2025
Read-the-world choice for Chad.
A 3.5, a pretty solid collection of fairytales, fables, and fantastical depictions of Chad's history. There were a lot of familiar elements, but a few new ideas and images to stick with me.
A 3.5, a pretty solid collection of fairytales, fables, and fantastical depictions of Chad's history. There were a lot of familiar elements, but a few new ideas and images to stick with me.
January 8, 2021
#readtheworld Chad
This collection of folk tales and fables from Chad was enjoyable and interesting, shedding light on some of Chad's origin stories. The tales feel very familiar, as they include creation stories, foundation stories, and moral stories, all of which seem inherent to human nature.
Regardless of culture, most creation and morality stories have eerily similar storylines, speaking to the essence of what makes us human, our needs, desires, and obligations. In this way, they didn't seem at all "foreign" or far off from similar stories I heard as a child.
The author presents these short tales in a very straightforward manner, compiling generations of oral stories for perpetuity. I tried to imagine the flourish and depth of embellishment a village elder would have added to these stories around a campfire, as I felt these probably would have been originally told. It seems the author has pared these stories down to the basics as a historian, but it lacked the finesse of a skilled storyteller.
This collection of folk tales and fables from Chad was enjoyable and interesting, shedding light on some of Chad's origin stories. The tales feel very familiar, as they include creation stories, foundation stories, and moral stories, all of which seem inherent to human nature.
Regardless of culture, most creation and morality stories have eerily similar storylines, speaking to the essence of what makes us human, our needs, desires, and obligations. In this way, they didn't seem at all "foreign" or far off from similar stories I heard as a child.
The author presents these short tales in a very straightforward manner, compiling generations of oral stories for perpetuity. I tried to imagine the flourish and depth of embellishment a village elder would have added to these stories around a campfire, as I felt these probably would have been originally told. It seems the author has pared these stories down to the basics as a historian, but it lacked the finesse of a skilled storyteller.
August 11, 2023
The history of a people is indeed unbroken; it cannot be distorted, it cannot be truncated, much less extinguished, by an ill-conceived act or by a policy tending to the cult of personality. It constitutes the only guarantee of a people's progress.
An excellent collection of short myths, legends, and folk tales from Chad. This book deserves to be far better known that it is, and I'm half tempted to shell out fifteen bucks to Amazon to have my own copy.
An excellent collection of short myths, legends, and folk tales from Chad. This book deserves to be far better known that it is, and I'm half tempted to shell out fifteen bucks to Amazon to have my own copy.
November 9, 2025
Told by Starlight in Chad by Joseph Brahim Seid is a distinctive collection of stories that blend folklore, childhood recollections, and national memory to offer a richly textured view of Chadian life and identity. Drawing on both traditional oral storytelling and modern concerns about nationhood and cultural synthesis, Seid uses fable, allegory, and poetic language to evoke the landscape and soul of Chad.
The book, composed of fourteen brief stories, pays homage to the oral tradition deeply rooted in African culture. Many of the tales possess a fable-like, allegorical quality, with talking animals, supernatural interventions, and lessons that apply both to their mythic settings and to modern readers. Seid’s style is often lyrical, conjuring the rhythms of village life, the magic of storytelling under the stars, and the vibrancy of communal living.
Seid’s stories paint an idyllic, sometimes nostalgic portrait of rural Chad, filled with evocative scenes from his childhood and collective folklore. Like traditional fables, the stories contain explicit and implicit morals. For example, in "Nidjema, the Little Orphan Girl," virtue is equated with true happiness, even as the protagonist suffers adversity.
Animals and landscapes are anthropomorphized, allowing folklore and fable to reflect on contemporary human concerns like justice, motherhood, and leadership. Tales such as "Bidi-Camoun, Tchouroma’s Horse" and "Hunting with a Net" imbue nonhuman characters with deep emotional resonance, highlighting universal values of loyalty, sacrifice, and compassion.
Published around Chad’s independence, the collection is seen as envisioning a new multicultural national identity and negotiating the legacies of négritude and consciencism, ideologies associated with African identity and Pan-African unity. Seid fosters pride in Chadian heritage while also implying hopes for modernisation and peaceful coexistence between diverse faiths and traditions.
The book’s themes are expansive, extending from the rhythms of daily life to the formation of national consciousness and the negotiation of historical trauma. Seid’s stories, accessible to both African and international audiences, provide a window into the shared humanity found in folklore traditions around the world, encouraging readers—especially those unfamiliar with Chad—to appreciate the region’s complexity and beauty. "Told by Starlight in Chad" stands as both a celebration of Chad’s oral heritage and a subtle commentary on the social and cultural challenges facing a newly independent nation. Through poetic prose and allegorical tales, Seid fosters pride, reflection, and a sense of unity that transcends religious, ethnic, and historical divides.
The book, composed of fourteen brief stories, pays homage to the oral tradition deeply rooted in African culture. Many of the tales possess a fable-like, allegorical quality, with talking animals, supernatural interventions, and lessons that apply both to their mythic settings and to modern readers. Seid’s style is often lyrical, conjuring the rhythms of village life, the magic of storytelling under the stars, and the vibrancy of communal living.
Seid’s stories paint an idyllic, sometimes nostalgic portrait of rural Chad, filled with evocative scenes from his childhood and collective folklore. Like traditional fables, the stories contain explicit and implicit morals. For example, in "Nidjema, the Little Orphan Girl," virtue is equated with true happiness, even as the protagonist suffers adversity.
Animals and landscapes are anthropomorphized, allowing folklore and fable to reflect on contemporary human concerns like justice, motherhood, and leadership. Tales such as "Bidi-Camoun, Tchouroma’s Horse" and "Hunting with a Net" imbue nonhuman characters with deep emotional resonance, highlighting universal values of loyalty, sacrifice, and compassion.
Published around Chad’s independence, the collection is seen as envisioning a new multicultural national identity and negotiating the legacies of négritude and consciencism, ideologies associated with African identity and Pan-African unity. Seid fosters pride in Chadian heritage while also implying hopes for modernisation and peaceful coexistence between diverse faiths and traditions.
The book’s themes are expansive, extending from the rhythms of daily life to the formation of national consciousness and the negotiation of historical trauma. Seid’s stories, accessible to both African and international audiences, provide a window into the shared humanity found in folklore traditions around the world, encouraging readers—especially those unfamiliar with Chad—to appreciate the region’s complexity and beauty. "Told by Starlight in Chad" stands as both a celebration of Chad’s oral heritage and a subtle commentary on the social and cultural challenges facing a newly independent nation. Through poetic prose and allegorical tales, Seid fosters pride, reflection, and a sense of unity that transcends religious, ethnic, and historical divides.
May 21, 2018
Der er ikke rasende meget skønlitteratur fra Tchad at vælge imellem. Og hvis man ikke læser fransk, er der nærmest intet.
"Told by Starlight in Chad" af Joseph Brahim Seid (oversat til engelsk af Karen Haire Hoenig fra det oprindelige franske) er faktisk den eneste udgivelse på engelsk, jeg overhovedet har kunnet opspore til brug for mit læseprojekt, Verden rundt i bøger.
Der er tale om en samling korte fortællinger, myter, legender og folkeeventyr fra Tchad. Ganske velskrevne og egentlig også interessante nok som udtryk for aspekter af tchadisk folklore (for dem, der har interesser i den retning). Men noget stort indtryk gjorde bogen ikke på mig. Den var heldigvis kort.
Læs mere på K's bognoter: http://bognoter.dk/2018/05/20/joseph-...
"Told by Starlight in Chad" af Joseph Brahim Seid (oversat til engelsk af Karen Haire Hoenig fra det oprindelige franske) er faktisk den eneste udgivelse på engelsk, jeg overhovedet har kunnet opspore til brug for mit læseprojekt, Verden rundt i bøger.
Der er tale om en samling korte fortællinger, myter, legender og folkeeventyr fra Tchad. Ganske velskrevne og egentlig også interessante nok som udtryk for aspekter af tchadisk folklore (for dem, der har interesser i den retning). Men noget stort indtryk gjorde bogen ikke på mig. Den var heldigvis kort.
Læs mere på K's bognoter: http://bognoter.dk/2018/05/20/joseph-...
July 28, 2023
A series of stories pr maybe even tall tales or fables with a common theme: Chad and its people. It is a good lens into central Africa's oral tradition, and some of its structures. Not particularly becoming will be your reading in the light of how men and women are portrayed and compared. However, "the eclipse of the Moon" and "The Misanthropic King" were great stories.
If there is a key takeaway, it's the last paragraph (and no, this is not a Spoiler, however, you've been warned): "The history of a people is indeed unbroken; it cannot be distorted, it cannot be truncated, much less extinguished, by an ill-conceived act or by a policy tending to the cult of personality. It constitutes the only guarantee of a people's progress."
If there is a key takeaway, it's the last paragraph (and no, this is not a Spoiler, however, you've been warned): "The history of a people is indeed unbroken; it cannot be distorted, it cannot be truncated, much less extinguished, by an ill-conceived act or by a policy tending to the cult of personality. It constitutes the only guarantee of a people's progress."
February 25, 2024
Mildly interesting collection of folk stories in the oral tradition. I liked that they resembled fairytales and fables more than tragedies!
My favourite was “Bidi-Camoun Tchouroma’s Horse”, a story about a magical horse and his very skilled rider, a Prince, who pretends to be very poor before convincing a Princess to marry him for his horsemanship talents with the help of the magic horse.
I also really enjoyed the story about why hunting with a net is frowned upon in Chad, where a doe is caught in a net and begs the hunters to see her fawn one more time only to be denied until an angel takes her place in the net to grant her her last wish.
My favourite was “Bidi-Camoun Tchouroma’s Horse”, a story about a magical horse and his very skilled rider, a Prince, who pretends to be very poor before convincing a Princess to marry him for his horsemanship talents with the help of the magic horse.
I also really enjoyed the story about why hunting with a net is frowned upon in Chad, where a doe is caught in a net and begs the hunters to see her fawn one more time only to be denied until an angel takes her place in the net to grant her her last wish.
August 21, 2024
I’ll round from 2.5⭐️ up to 3 on the assumption that some of the eloquence of the original language is lost in translation.
This book of short stories is similar to any other such as seen in Celtic folklore, or in fairytales by The Brothers Grimm. This means they are also subject to the bits that are questionable by today’s standards (e.g. a pair of hard done by orphans that are helped by magical creatures and grow up to be so prosperous they have slaves to build their kingdom).
I may have liked it a bit more if there were a wider variety of morals that didn’t depend on religious worshipping.
This book of short stories is similar to any other such as seen in Celtic folklore, or in fairytales by The Brothers Grimm. This means they are also subject to the bits that are questionable by today’s standards (e.g. a pair of hard done by orphans that are helped by magical creatures and grow up to be so prosperous they have slaves to build their kingdom).
I may have liked it a bit more if there were a wider variety of morals that didn’t depend on religious worshipping.
May 20, 2022
//3.5//
This compact book tells traditional stories and folk tales from the African nation of Chad. This is a translation done in 2006, published in 2007, of a much older book written originally in French. The book is comprised of 14 tales that the narrator tells by the fire during village festivities. It reminds me of 1001 Nights, but these are very short stories, that are rich in Chadian lore. These stories are very short and you very much can imagine them being told orally as stories.
My favourite was The Lions Justice.
This compact book tells traditional stories and folk tales from the African nation of Chad. This is a translation done in 2006, published in 2007, of a much older book written originally in French. The book is comprised of 14 tales that the narrator tells by the fire during village festivities. It reminds me of 1001 Nights, but these are very short stories, that are rich in Chadian lore. These stories are very short and you very much can imagine them being told orally as stories.
My favourite was The Lions Justice.
May 22, 2024
Easy to read, fable-like book. Reminded me a bit of older Bosnian authors. I learned a bit about Chad and its people, its history and its beliefs. The author shares these short tales in a super straightforward way, putting together generations of oral stories for the ages. I tried to picture the flair and depth a village elder would’ve added around a campfire since that’s probably how they were originally told. It feels like the author stripped these stories down to the basics as a historian, but they’re missing the touch of a skilled storyteller.
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September 22, 2025Not rating this since it’s a translated book and although the stories were interesting I think they’d flow better in the original language.
The book was much shorter than I thought but I appreciate the concept and that oral histories are being documented.
As many reviews have said it’s difficult to find books written by Chadian authors in English. So yes, while I’d like to read and learn more about Chad than this book provided me..I think it’s unfair to rate it low because it’s not what you wanted.
The book was much shorter than I thought but I appreciate the concept and that oral histories are being documented.
As many reviews have said it’s difficult to find books written by Chadian authors in English. So yes, while I’d like to read and learn more about Chad than this book provided me..I think it’s unfair to rate it low because it’s not what you wanted.
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March 5, 2021Global Read Challenge 77: Chad
I'm not rating this, because it feels weird to rate a country's origin stories and fables and I have no idea how good a job the author did in transcribing them. It was really interesting to see how many themes were familiar form fables and folktales I was familiar with. Obviously the story with the morale that you should go back to your abuser and accept your destiny was difficult to say the least.
I'm not rating this, because it feels weird to rate a country's origin stories and fables and I have no idea how good a job the author did in transcribing them. It was really interesting to see how many themes were familiar form fables and folktales I was familiar with. Obviously the story with the morale that you should go back to your abuser and accept your destiny was difficult to say the least.
October 3, 2023
These are not short stories in the traditional meaning of the term, so I am not going to use that tag as other readers have. These are myths, legends, and fables of the people of Chad and this general area of Africa. Some are much more interesting than others, and all are quite short. This isn't going to be informative about Chad as it is now or has been historically, but it is worth reading to understand their traditional myths.
March 25, 2025
Lembrei-me dos contos de fadas que li quando era criança, embora em versões ocidentalizadas. Alguns são realmente bem diferentes, devem ser típicos do Chad, e não chegaram até nós, mas alguns são claramente versões dos contos dos irmãos Grimm, como João e Maria, Pele de Asno, e outros. Difícil saber a origem dos contos, obvio, mas considerando que a literatura oral viaja muito rapidamente, não é de estranhar que as mesmas histórias sejam contadas em diferentes lugares. Gostei bastante deste livro.
October 9, 2025
Chosen for the "Read Around the World" challenge: CHAD. The gorgeous cover photo of this short (71 pages) book shows some of Chad’s natural charm.
These tales cover several themes - although descriptions of women inevitably include their stupendous beauty (wouldn’t it be great if plain or ugly women were heroines too). “Hunting with a Net” cleverly gives a doe’s point of view - explaining why, in Chad, it’s generally considered taboo to hunt this way.
These tales cover several themes - although descriptions of women inevitably include their stupendous beauty (wouldn’t it be great if plain or ugly women were heroines too). “Hunting with a Net” cleverly gives a doe’s point of view - explaining why, in Chad, it’s generally considered taboo to hunt this way.
December 24, 2025
I read this as part of my reading-of-the-world project (Chad). I really enjoyed it. It is a book of short stories, almost all are folklore, but I love these types of stories and traditional storytelling. I assume there are aspects to the stories that are lost in translation, as well as lost in the reading of them rather than having them "told by starlight". But ultimately it was an enjoyable read.
October 9, 2017
[#95: Chad] This is a series of tales written down from oral tradition. Some of them sound familiar, as you will find that there is your typical wicked stepmother and the prettiest princess of them all. The stories are straightforward, and the moral at the end embodies universal values, which makes this book far from mind-blowing.
June 23, 2018
Short story/fables (most only a few pages) from Chad. All them are excessively positive and joyous in their action and telling. There are monsters, evil step mothers, forsaken children, stolen magical objects. Most of the stories originated in oral tradition about the founding of the nation and the tribes within it. I really would love to read more.
October 21, 2024
Being encouraged by the preface to imagine myself around a fire listening to an oral history made this book an enjoyable read for me. I wouldn’t say I felt transported, but the stories definitely have a fable-by-fireside feel that was pleasant. While the stories are largely fantastical, I do feel like I got a small picture of the values and lifestyle of the people of Chad after reading this.
June 29, 2025
Chad for Read Around Africa. I think this book just passes from hand to hand between people doing the Read Around the World challenge.
3.5
Seid wanted to create a short story collection of folk tales that portrayed Chad in a positive light and I think he achieved that. I couldn't parse some of the moral lessons so I need to brush up on my GCSE English Literature skills.
3.5
Seid wanted to create a short story collection of folk tales that portrayed Chad in a positive light and I think he achieved that. I couldn't parse some of the moral lessons so I need to brush up on my GCSE English Literature skills.
December 18, 2025
This is a collection of short stories that either are or reference fables and fairy tales that have been passed down in Chad. From princesses and wicked stepmothers to the creation of villages to stories featuring magical gazelles and antelopes, it was honestly just a quaint set of stories that I enjoyed reading at the moment 6/10
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