Loukoum: The 'Little Prince' of Belleville

by Calixthe Beyala, Marjolijn de Jager (Translator)

Belleville is the African immigrant quarter of Paris, where seven year-old Loukoum lives with his family. While his father spends time having affairs and drinking in the cafe with fellow Africans, his father's two wives look after the children at home.

177 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Calixthe Beyala (born 1961) is a Cameroonian-born French writer who writes in French.

She grew up in Douala with her sister. In 1978, she left Cameroon for France. She married, and has two children.

(from Wikipedia)

Calixthe Beyala est née à Douala au Cameroun. Sixième d'une famille de douze enfants, elle a été marquée par l'extrême pauvreté de son milieu. Calixthe Beyala a passé son enfance séparée de son père et de sa mère qui sont originaires de la région de Yaoundé. D'un tempérament solitaire, dit-elle, elle a grandi seule avec une soeur de quatre ans son aînée qui l'a prise en charge et l'a envoyée à l'école. Calixthe Beyala a été à l'école principale du camp Nboppi à Douala. Ensuite, elle a fréquenté successivement le lycée des rapides à Bangui et le lycée polyvalent de Douala; elle aimait tout particulièrement l'étude des maths. Calixthe Beyala a quitté Douala à 17 ans pour la France. Elle s'y marie, passe son bac pour ensuite effectuer des études de gestion et de lettres.
Avant de s'installer à Paris où elle réside actuellement avec ses deux enfants, Calixthe Beyala a vécu à Malaga et en Corse avec son mari. Elle a également beaucoup voyagé en Afrique, en Europe et un peu partout dans le reste du monde. En plus du Français, elle parle l'Eton qui est sa langue maternelle, ainsi que le Pidgin, l' Espagnol et quelques langues Africaines.
Calixthe Beyala a écrit son premier livre à vingt trois ans:

Reviews

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

A seven year old child lives the life of the ‘Little Prince’ of Belleville- an immigrant district of Paris. His title is a reference to the ‘Little Prince’ of the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry novella – the child who roams a universe of diminutive planets trying to find his way back to his home asteroid.

Loukoum’s universe consists of his extended Malian family, headed by Abdou Traore, his ‘revered’ father. Traore’s two wives, M’am and Soumana, feature prominently in the story, their existence a paradigm for the alienation of African women, both from their menfolk and the society in which they have settled
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The relationship between the males and females in the within the culture of these communities is explored in paragraphs that preface each chapter, written by Traore. “Woman is an ambiguous creature”, he tells us. “She is there, present and precise in the mist, delineating rays, indicating the trees on the plain.” Yet his reverence for these attributes of the female do not translate into equitable treatment: the man is an habitual womaniser, causing chronic misery for his wives.

Loukoum moves through the neighbourhood observing the behaviour of ‘the African tribe’ and its efforts to get by. He tangles with teachers who interpret his immersion in the Koran, preferring it to Saint-Exupery puzzling tale. A classmate, Lolita, intrigues the child, bringing out empathy provoked by her suffering over the breakdown of her parent’s marriage. The French tribe seem to have their troubles too.

One day Loukoum’s real mother, Aminata, turns up at Loukoum’s home. Something of the circumstances of his origin begins to come out, providing yet another story of Traore’s infidelities and the anguish he has caused to others. He initially sees the young woman as a ‘tart’ but as the weeks go by he gets a closer view of a women who has made us of her attractiveness to obtain a degree of security that seems to beyond M’am and Soumana. Also Aminata needs him. The career she has followed, as an escort and nightclub singer have been for the purpose of gaining a position where she could reclaim her son.

There is a backdrop to all these events sketched out in a world of petty crime, police raids, immigration checks and Soumana’s lingering illness. Madame Saddock appears on the scene, a white woman preaching feminism, making a clumsy effort to befriend M’am and Soumana and encourage a revolt against the patriarch who rules there family. The African women are initially intrigued but their interest wains as it becomes clearer that the outsider does not really have a grip on the reality of their lives.

The book concludes with a conversation between the main adults in his life on the 14th July, when the French celebrate their revolution and the blacks gather in family groups in the park. Aminata declares her intention to be happy: “I can’t deal with life if we are only here to be unhappy.” M’am says that, for a woman who has worked as a prostitute, she handles things rather well. “Yeah. Even misfortune wears itself out” is the reply.

Loukoum’s finally reflection is that the ways of happiness seem to be very complicated.

[Nathalie Gélinotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cette chronique de la vie dans une famille malienne à Belleville est racontée avec humour, du point de vue d'un enfant. Ça manque un peu de rythme et ça n'est pas très gai. Heureusement que le style est plaisant et léger.

[Morefiiyaa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interestering take on life in Paris from a Black immigrant boy from Mali. Although fiction, so many similarities- the behaviour of the white woman who is trying so hard to get the Black wives to join in the 'women's movement'- fighting for their liberation- when in actuality- she is a nosey white woman, trying to further her cause- just like in the USA. An easy read and enjoyable- great translation from the French language.

[CATHERIN BOLIAS · Rating 4 out of 5]

amazing !!!

[Ronniel]

I'm concious!