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La Belle Créole
Lorsque Dieudonné, jardinier de son état, sort de prison après avoir été acquitté pour le meurtre de Loraine, sa riche maîtresse békée croqueuse de jeunes hommes, il se retrouve dans une ville au bord de l'insurrection. Economie sinistrée, conflits sociaux, affrontements syndicaux et politiques, haines raciales : en 1999, Port-Mahault vit des heures difficiles. Dans cette ambiance délétère, Dieudonné, renié par sa famille et par bon nombre de ses amis, retrouve tout naturellement le chemin de sa Belle Créole, le bateau qui lui sert de refuge et de repère, vestige heureux d'un passé révolu.
Dans une langue fleurie et baroque, Maryse Condé livre peu à peu les clés de ce mystérieux personnage frappé du sceau du malheur, figure tragique d'une histoire d'amour passionnelle. Dans une nature luxuriante, elle met en scène des personnages au grand cœur et aux nobles idéaux. Loin de tout cliché exotique, La Belle Créole peint dans une tonalité sombre le destin d'un grand héros romantique.
Dans une langue fleurie et baroque, Maryse Condé livre peu à peu les clés de ce mystérieux personnage frappé du sceau du malheur, figure tragique d'une histoire d'amour passionnelle. Dans une nature luxuriante, elle met en scène des personnages au grand cœur et aux nobles idéaux. Loin de tout cliché exotique, La Belle Créole peint dans une tonalité sombre le destin d'un grand héros romantique.
306 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2001
42 people are currently reading
523 people want to read
About the author
Maryse Condé
99 books906 followersMaryse Condé was a Guadeloupean, French language author of historical fiction, best known for her novel Segu. Maryse Condé was born as Maryse Boucolon at Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, the youngest of eight children. In 1953, her parents sent her to study at Lycée Fénelon and Sorbonne in Paris, where she majored in English. In 1959, she married Mamadou Condé, an Guinean actor. After graduating, she taught in Guinea, Ghana, and Senegal. In 1981, she divorced, but the following year married Richard Philcox, English language translator of most of her novels.
Condé's novels explore racial, gender, and cultural issues in a variety of historical eras and locales, including the Salem witch trials in I, Tituba: Black Witch of Salem and the 19th century Bambara Empire of Mali in Segu.
In addition to her writings, Condé had a distinguished academic career. In 2004 she retired from Columbia University as Professor Emeritus of French. She had previously taught at the University of California, Berkeley, UCLA, the Sorbonne, The University of Virginia, and the University of Nanterre.
In March 2007, Condé was the keynote speaker at Franklin College Switzerland's Caribbean Unbound III conference, in Lugano, Switzerland.
Condé's novels explore racial, gender, and cultural issues in a variety of historical eras and locales, including the Salem witch trials in I, Tituba: Black Witch of Salem and the 19th century Bambara Empire of Mali in Segu.
In addition to her writings, Condé had a distinguished academic career. In 2004 she retired from Columbia University as Professor Emeritus of French. She had previously taught at the University of California, Berkeley, UCLA, the Sorbonne, The University of Virginia, and the University of Nanterre.
In March 2007, Condé was the keynote speaker at Franklin College Switzerland's Caribbean Unbound III conference, in Lugano, Switzerland.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
November 15, 2020
November 15, 2020: Is it wise to hail books with words like "masterpiece"? By what standards can one declare a writer a genius, incomparable, an artist whose tools alchemize words into biodomes that exert a pull on perception more powerful than what a reader sees when they take a breath, lift their head, and blink. The Belle Créole is only the third Maryse Condé novel I’ve read, yet from the first one I wanted to climb the world’s peak to let loose the proclamation that if Condé was not ranked among your greatest 20th century writers, you were wrong. (My first was Windward Heights (1998), translated by Richard Philcox. If you love Wuthering Heights, read it. If you hate Wuthering Heights, read it. If you know or care nothing about Wuthering Heights, read it.) With The Belle Créole, first published in French in 2001, she claimed the 21st.
Full review at The Book Slut
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April 2020:
Condé asked a lot of hard questions in this novel, one of her rare ones to use a contemporary Guadelope setting. Can the past outlive its usefulness? Knowing that we need new stories does not guarantee we will know to create new ones. How can we? How do we tackle the big issues without ignoring the small ones that live in those closest to us every day?
Staceyann Chin wrote:
I believe holy is what you do
when there is nothing between your actions and a truth
In our little enclaves and fractured visions, are we destined to forever see through a glass darkly.The Belle Creolé will challenge the idea that holiness is possible. The world somehow felt more alive in these pages than in my surroundings. This book made me want to know everything about Guadeloupe right now. Upcoming Review for The Book Slut
4.5 stars
Bookstagram | Twitter | The Book Slut
Full review at The Book Slut
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April 2020:
Condé asked a lot of hard questions in this novel, one of her rare ones to use a contemporary Guadelope setting. Can the past outlive its usefulness? Knowing that we need new stories does not guarantee we will know to create new ones. How can we? How do we tackle the big issues without ignoring the small ones that live in those closest to us every day?
Staceyann Chin wrote:
I believe holy is what you do
when there is nothing between your actions and a truth
In our little enclaves and fractured visions, are we destined to forever see through a glass darkly.The Belle Creolé will challenge the idea that holiness is possible. The world somehow felt more alive in these pages than in my surroundings. This book made me want to know everything about Guadeloupe right now. Upcoming Review for The Book Slut
4.5 stars
Bookstagram | Twitter | The Book Slut
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December 10, 2025ম্যারিস কন্ডের এই উপন্যাসও এগিয়েছে ভাগ্যবিড়ম্বিত যুবক দিউদোন্নের একটা রাতের যাত্রায়। খুনের দায় থেকে সদ্য মুক্তি পাওয়া দিউদোন্নের সাথে এক-একটা চরিত্র, আর তাদের নিজ-নিজ অতীত যাত্রার মধ্যে দিয়েই উপন্যাসের গোটা কাহিনিটা স্পষ্ট হয় পাঠকের সামনে। পরিসর খুব অল্প, কিন্তু তার মাঝেই ক্যারিবিয়ানের দ্বীপ গুয়াদেলুপে’র নানা রকমের দ্বন্দ্ব ম্যারিস কন্ডে ফুটিয়ে তোলেন দারুণ দক্ষতায়।
‘আই, তিতুবা…’র পর কন্ডের আরও একটা উপন্যাস অনুবাদ করলেন রওশন জামিল। অনুবাদ সুপাঠ্য, কিন্তু ক্রিওল ভাষার ফুটনোট-জনিত সমস্যা, আর ছাপাখানার (কিংবা পরিমার্জনের) ভূত একটু ত্যাক্ত করলো।
[ডিসেম্বর, ২০২৫]
‘আই, তিতুবা…’র পর কন্ডের আরও একটা উপন্যাস অনুবাদ করলেন রওশন জামিল। অনুবাদ সুপাঠ্য, কিন্তু ক্রিওল ভাষার ফুটনোট-জনিত সমস্যা, আর ছাপাখানার (কিংবা পরিমার্জনের) ভূত একটু ত্যাক্ত করলো।
[ডিসেম্বর, ২০২৫]
March 18, 2022
Maryse Conde can do no wrong and I don’t know why more persons are not reading her!
Set in modern day Guadeloupe, The Belle Creole opens with twenty two year old Dieudonne finding out that he will not be convicted for the murder of Loraine a wealthy white woman and descendant of plantation owners. We are taken into his internal thoughts on what happens the first 24 hours of being released from jail and the trail.
The Belle Creole is a commentary on class, racism, and inequality in modern day Guadeloupe. It is not every day that you read a book where a Black character is set free after being accused of killing a white woman- especially a white woman of means (albeit from being descendants of plantation owners). What Conde does well is keep her readers gripped, wanting to know how a Gardener ended up in the bed of his employer and WHY he was being charged for her murder.
Well written and engaging, a short but impactful read.
Set in modern day Guadeloupe, The Belle Creole opens with twenty two year old Dieudonne finding out that he will not be convicted for the murder of Loraine a wealthy white woman and descendant of plantation owners. We are taken into his internal thoughts on what happens the first 24 hours of being released from jail and the trail.
The Belle Creole is a commentary on class, racism, and inequality in modern day Guadeloupe. It is not every day that you read a book where a Black character is set free after being accused of killing a white woman- especially a white woman of means (albeit from being descendants of plantation owners). What Conde does well is keep her readers gripped, wanting to know how a Gardener ended up in the bed of his employer and WHY he was being charged for her murder.
Well written and engaging, a short but impactful read.
April 14, 2021
This is the third novel I've read from author Maryse Condé of Guadeloupe. The story is set entirely in the carribean island of Guadeloue, officially an overseas French territory or another way to describe still a French colony where African slaves were deported and now composing majority of population.
The leading character and the story are not necessarily captivating or interesting:
- the leading character, Dieudonne, is a young Black adult, a continuous victim of society, abandoned, unloved, uneducated with no special skills, but he represents the youth of local society,
- the story is about the leading character being acquited from the murder of a rich White old woman, descendant of family owning slaves, and what he does with his newly acquired freedom.
The author described a realistic image of the Island, all of its people, and its economic and social status. Guadeloupe is usually described as an exotic paradisiac island, but behind the exotism lies various neighborhoods depending on who lives there divided by social and racial classes.
Through a number of secondary characters, the author was able to describe the different types of people living in the island. The majority of people are Black, descendants of slaves, speaking créole and/or French living in poor neighborhood filled with violence, insecurity, and misery. Only a handful of them were able to become more prosperous gained at a high cost. The white whose families owned slaves still exist and live there. There are also French coming from mainland hold high positions in administration and companies and leaving the island as they wished. Then, there are other people coming from other islands fleeing conflicts or white woman from Europe or USA searching for exotism and realizing too late that there's nothing for them in the island.
The author was also able to show how the social and economic status of majority never changes and maintained at poverty. There is lack of prospects of its people symbolized by the leading character, whose life turns dramatic after his acquital of the murder trial.
The leading character and the story are not necessarily captivating or interesting:
- the leading character, Dieudonne, is a young Black adult, a continuous victim of society, abandoned, unloved, uneducated with no special skills, but he represents the youth of local society,
- the story is about the leading character being acquited from the murder of a rich White old woman, descendant of family owning slaves, and what he does with his newly acquired freedom.
The author described a realistic image of the Island, all of its people, and its economic and social status. Guadeloupe is usually described as an exotic paradisiac island, but behind the exotism lies various neighborhoods depending on who lives there divided by social and racial classes.
Through a number of secondary characters, the author was able to describe the different types of people living in the island. The majority of people are Black, descendants of slaves, speaking créole and/or French living in poor neighborhood filled with violence, insecurity, and misery. Only a handful of them were able to become more prosperous gained at a high cost. The white whose families owned slaves still exist and live there. There are also French coming from mainland hold high positions in administration and companies and leaving the island as they wished. Then, there are other people coming from other islands fleeing conflicts or white woman from Europe or USA searching for exotism and realizing too late that there's nothing for them in the island.
The author was also able to show how the social and economic status of majority never changes and maintained at poverty. There is lack of prospects of its people symbolized by the leading character, whose life turns dramatic after his acquital of the murder trial.
November 8, 2021
Set on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, officially an overseas department of mainland France, but with the legacy of past colonial exploitation, and ongoing tensions between former slaves and the descendants of their economic masters, the White Créoles or “békés”, the action takes place in the 1990s. This is a period of particular unrest: demands for independence from France, union-led strikes cause power cuts, mountains of waste fester uncollected, and ferocious packs of wild dogs terrorise the streets, while the rich rely on fierce hounds to protect their villas from thieves.
The novel opens with the unexpected acquittal of Dieudonné, a young black gardener charged with the murder of his middle-aged, wealthy, white employer Loraine. Since it appears unquestionable that he killed her, and he unfortunately shares a name with an infamous real-life French comedian, the reader may feel uneasy about sympathising with him. In this highly publicised case, Dieudonné is recognised wherever he goes, and opinion is divided, with some of his own relatives reluctant to give him shelter.
Covering the twenty-four hours after his release, Maryse Condé gradually reveals the circumstances of his crime, together with details of the past which shaped him. Perhaps it was the love and care for his mother Marine, crippled by an accident, which led him, after her death, to transfer his affections to Lorraine. A once beautiful woman, ambitions thwarted by poverty, Marine grew embittered after her abandonment by the wealthy man who has never lifted a finger to help their son Dieudonné. He was given a brief taste of “the good life” when the Cohens, a family visiting from abroad, took a fancy to him, taking him on trips aboard their boat, “La Belle Créole”, even letting him steer, until all contact abruptly ceased after their return home. The boat is left to rot in the marina, a refuge for Dieudonné’s criminal friends or his eccentric mentor, the penniless poet Boris – one of the novel’s larger than life characters.
The novel is peppered with Créole words which are explained in a glossary at the end of the English translation, but unfortunately not in the original French version. It is well worth making the effort to look these up in order to appreciate the book fully.
Apart from his acquittal, a series of unfortunate coincidences seem to dog Dieudonné. Yet he also makes a frustrating anti-hero in that, partly through being so damaged by life, he seems incapable of pursuing the positive opportunities which also arise. The snare of his obsession with Loraine, his plight of how to deal with an unexpected freedom when he has lost the one person he loves, weave the at times wearisome thread binding this novel together.
Beneath this lies what was for me the essence of the novel: the vivid portrayal of Guadeloupe, with its strong sense of place combined with the searing parody of a range of often exaggerated characters to raise our understanding of life there and arouse sympathy for those like Dieudonné whose existence has been blighted by circumstance.
The novel opens with the unexpected acquittal of Dieudonné, a young black gardener charged with the murder of his middle-aged, wealthy, white employer Loraine. Since it appears unquestionable that he killed her, and he unfortunately shares a name with an infamous real-life French comedian, the reader may feel uneasy about sympathising with him. In this highly publicised case, Dieudonné is recognised wherever he goes, and opinion is divided, with some of his own relatives reluctant to give him shelter.
Covering the twenty-four hours after his release, Maryse Condé gradually reveals the circumstances of his crime, together with details of the past which shaped him. Perhaps it was the love and care for his mother Marine, crippled by an accident, which led him, after her death, to transfer his affections to Lorraine. A once beautiful woman, ambitions thwarted by poverty, Marine grew embittered after her abandonment by the wealthy man who has never lifted a finger to help their son Dieudonné. He was given a brief taste of “the good life” when the Cohens, a family visiting from abroad, took a fancy to him, taking him on trips aboard their boat, “La Belle Créole”, even letting him steer, until all contact abruptly ceased after their return home. The boat is left to rot in the marina, a refuge for Dieudonné’s criminal friends or his eccentric mentor, the penniless poet Boris – one of the novel’s larger than life characters.
The novel is peppered with Créole words which are explained in a glossary at the end of the English translation, but unfortunately not in the original French version. It is well worth making the effort to look these up in order to appreciate the book fully.
Apart from his acquittal, a series of unfortunate coincidences seem to dog Dieudonné. Yet he also makes a frustrating anti-hero in that, partly through being so damaged by life, he seems incapable of pursuing the positive opportunities which also arise. The snare of his obsession with Loraine, his plight of how to deal with an unexpected freedom when he has lost the one person he loves, weave the at times wearisome thread binding this novel together.
Beneath this lies what was for me the essence of the novel: the vivid portrayal of Guadeloupe, with its strong sense of place combined with the searing parody of a range of often exaggerated characters to raise our understanding of life there and arouse sympathy for those like Dieudonné whose existence has been blighted by circumstance.
January 14, 2024
originally written in French, occasionally switching into guadeloupean creole, the English translation only reached us in 2020. it’s a shame it’s taken us so long to be able to access such a wonderful novel.
the belle creole takes place from the morning dieudonné is released from prison, until dawn of the following day. it explores the political turmoil of Guadeloupe, the impossibility of things getting better and the people’s hardships, amidst the backdrop of dieudonné’s memories as he looks back on his life and everything that led up to this point.
if you liked to kill a mockingbird, or when the crawdads sing, this book takes a similar format as it shifts between past, present, and takes place in the protagnist’s mind a lot of the time. the political turmoil and downfall of Guadeloupe is synthesised into the story quite nicely: condé explores how a nation fails a young black man who has been incarcerated for killing his white mistress.
this was a super insightful novel and my first of maryse condé’s. I love the way she plays with language and how she sets a scene; her descriptions were rich, moving and deeply introspective in each of the characters’ minds. she does a lot in just 180 pages, and the story is one that definitely stays with you.
the belle creole takes place from the morning dieudonné is released from prison, until dawn of the following day. it explores the political turmoil of Guadeloupe, the impossibility of things getting better and the people’s hardships, amidst the backdrop of dieudonné’s memories as he looks back on his life and everything that led up to this point.
if you liked to kill a mockingbird, or when the crawdads sing, this book takes a similar format as it shifts between past, present, and takes place in the protagnist’s mind a lot of the time. the political turmoil and downfall of Guadeloupe is synthesised into the story quite nicely: condé explores how a nation fails a young black man who has been incarcerated for killing his white mistress.
this was a super insightful novel and my first of maryse condé’s. I love the way she plays with language and how she sets a scene; her descriptions were rich, moving and deeply introspective in each of the characters’ minds. she does a lot in just 180 pages, and the story is one that definitely stays with you.
April 10, 2025
this book was a multifaceted and incredibly interesting exploration of masculinity, and post-colonialism in a fictional guadeloupe. i think without the help of my professor (who translated it), i would not have understood or enjoyed it to this level.
May 2, 2024
3.5
I really enjoyed the challenge of the creole mixed into the book’s language, which is not translated or explained and makes the unfamiliar (read:white) reader guess at the meaning. It made me feel like an outside observer in the story rather than an active participant, which was interesting given the treatment of race in the novel and also supported the alienation + mystery that is created around Dieudonné to begin with.
I also found it to be a pretty unique approach to the theme of mommy issues in romantic entanglement, which is refreshing.
I think that for a book to really captivate me it needs to be either emotionally striking or really very thought provoking. Not sure this did either enough.
I really enjoyed the challenge of the creole mixed into the book’s language, which is not translated or explained and makes the unfamiliar (read:white) reader guess at the meaning. It made me feel like an outside observer in the story rather than an active participant, which was interesting given the treatment of race in the novel and also supported the alienation + mystery that is created around Dieudonné to begin with.
I also found it to be a pretty unique approach to the theme of mommy issues in romantic entanglement, which is refreshing.
I think that for a book to really captivate me it needs to be either emotionally striking or really very thought provoking. Not sure this did either enough.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 20, 2024
My first, but definitely won’t be my last, Conde book. Conde sets a harrowing dystopian scene as she shows Guadeloupe struggling during the 1999 strikes in the backdrop of the aftermath of this fictional trial. With themes of inter generational trauma, unrequited love, repressed sexuality, post colonialism, and the authenticity of liberal ideals, this was a true tour de force.
Some of the references in the book were a little lost on me but if you take the time to read the afterword or research alongside the reading, you can come to appreciate how brilliant this book is.
Some of the references in the book were a little lost on me but if you take the time to read the afterword or research alongside the reading, you can come to appreciate how brilliant this book is.
March 21, 2025
Having gone for the first time to Guadeloupe, it was fitting to read a book from their local literary star (and namesake of the international airport) Maryse Condé.
Set in modern day Guadeloupe, the novel follows a lost young man who has been convicted and acquitted of the murder of a ‘béké’, a descendant of the original white landowners of the island. It depicts a series of original local characters, and is written in a beautiful French style interspersed with a number of creole words. As I understand it it’s a good introduction to Maryse Condé.
Set in modern day Guadeloupe, the novel follows a lost young man who has been convicted and acquitted of the murder of a ‘béké’, a descendant of the original white landowners of the island. It depicts a series of original local characters, and is written in a beautiful French style interspersed with a number of creole words. As I understand it it’s a good introduction to Maryse Condé.
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April 13, 2025The acquitted murderer of middle-aged white woman becomes the thread that ties a decaying Guadeloupe in this vivid and insightful ensemble piece. The characters are well-realized and sympathetically drawn, I’ll check out something else by Conde.
May 4, 2025
Fascinating in the way that learning about an unfamiliar place is always fascinating, but the characters seemed like archetypes instead of real people, and not much redemption anywhere. Was it political satire? I struggled to finish it. it was artfully written, but unbearably dark.
September 12, 2020
Not sure how I was expecting the book to end, but I was not surprised by the ending, it lingered from the beginning of the book. Perhaps the wandering timeline was not what I generally like to read.
April 21, 2023
Really very good. 4.4!
October 7, 2023
Rating- 3/5
Pages- 199
Notes- so much information/ things happening that I didn’t understand what was happening half of the time. Very confusing.
Pages- 199
Notes- so much information/ things happening that I didn’t understand what was happening half of the time. Very confusing.
November 19, 2023
Bon livre avec une histoire assez intéressante mais ce n'est pas mon préféré de Maryse Condé
November 20, 2023
Read for 1st year undergrad. Can't remember too much of what happens but I enjoyed it more than the other 1st year novels.
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April 27, 2025DNF at 4%. Will revisit later.
May 31, 2025
On est en Guadeloupe, on suit Dieudonné pendant une journée, jeune de 22 ans, il sort d'un procès pour le meurtre d'une békée, procès dans lequel il est acquitté. Sa vie est récapitulée au cours du livre et on rencontre son entourage. Je ne différenciais et ne reconnaissais pas les personnages, le tout est confus. J'ai trouvé cela peu intéressant.
July 4, 2016
Une histoire de la passion, du crime et du destin. My only wish is that there was an english version. Not being a native French speaker, I was lost in translation.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews