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Dans le ventre du congo
Avril 1958. Lorsque s’ouvre l’Exposition universelle de Bruxelles, Robert Dumont, l’un des responsables du plus grand événement international depuis la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, a fini par déposer les armes face aux pressions du palais royal : il y aura bel et bien un « village congolais » dans l’un des sept pavillons consacrés aux colonies. Parmi les onze recrues mobilisées au pied de l’Atomium pour se donner en spectacle figure la jeune Tshala, fille de l’intraitable roi des Bakuba. Le périple de cette princesse nous est dévoilé, de son Kasaï natal à Bruxelles en passant par Léopoldville, jusqu’à son exhibition forcée à Expo 58, où l’on perd sa trace.
Été 2004. Fraîchement débarquée en Belgique, une nièce de la princesse disparue croise la route d’un homme hanté par le fantôme du père. Il s’agit de Francis Dumont, professeur de droit à l’Université libre de Bruxelles. Une succession d’événements finit par leur dévoiler le secret emporté dans sa tombe par l’ancien sous-commissaire d’Expo 58. D’un siècle l’autre, le roman embrasse la grande Histoire pour poser la question centrale de l’équation coloniale : le passé peut-il passer ?
Blaise Ndala est né en 1972 en République démocratique du Congo. Il a fait des études de droit en Belgique avant de s’installer au Canada en 2007. Il y a publié deux romans remarqués, J’irai danser sur la tombe de Senghor (L’Interligne, 2014, prix du livre d’Ottawa), et Sans capote ni kalachnikov (Mémoire d’encrier, 2017, lauréat du Combat national des livres de Radio-Canada et du prix AAOF).
Été 2004. Fraîchement débarquée en Belgique, une nièce de la princesse disparue croise la route d’un homme hanté par le fantôme du père. Il s’agit de Francis Dumont, professeur de droit à l’Université libre de Bruxelles. Une succession d’événements finit par leur dévoiler le secret emporté dans sa tombe par l’ancien sous-commissaire d’Expo 58. D’un siècle l’autre, le roman embrasse la grande Histoire pour poser la question centrale de l’équation coloniale : le passé peut-il passer ?
Blaise Ndala est né en 1972 en République démocratique du Congo. Il a fait des études de droit en Belgique avant de s’installer au Canada en 2007. Il y a publié deux romans remarqués, J’irai danser sur la tombe de Senghor (L’Interligne, 2014, prix du livre d’Ottawa), et Sans capote ni kalachnikov (Mémoire d’encrier, 2017, lauréat du Combat national des livres de Radio-Canada et du prix AAOF).
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2021
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825 people want to read
About the author
Blaise Ndala
6 books18 followersBlaise Ndala est né en 1972 en République démocratique du Congo. Il a fait des études de droit en Belgique avant de s’installer au Canada en 2007. Il y a publié deux romans remarqués, J’irai danser sur la tombe de Senghor (L’Interligne, 2014, prix du livre d’Ottawa), et Sans capote ni kalachnikov (Mémoire d’encrier, 2017, lauréat du Combat national des livres de Radio-Canada et du prix AAOF).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
March 28, 2021
Je suis évidemment déçu d'être déçu. J'avais de grandes attentes pour ce roman de Blaise Ndala. Malheureusement, la prémisse d'un intérêt historique et sociologique immense, soit un retour sur le "village congolais" d'Expo 58, à Bruxelles, est noyée sous le bavardage et les tergiversations, dans un récit aux accents de tragi-comédie familiale dont les ressorts nouant l'intrigue sont plus "expliqués" à rebours que vécus et intégrés de façon naturelle à la narration. Il y a trop de personnages, les liens entre eux en deviennent artificiels, et il nous devient par le fait même difficile de s'intéresser à leur sort, à leurs motivations, à leurs questionnements, aux démons intérieurs qui les rongent.
Cela dit, je salue bien bas l'ambtition de l'auteur d'avoir voulu créer un objet littéraire d'une telle ampleur. Et je salue aussi sa plume qui, à plus d'un endroit, s'autorise quelques envolées lyriques de haute voltige.
Cela dit, je salue bien bas l'ambtition de l'auteur d'avoir voulu créer un objet littéraire d'une telle ampleur. Et je salue aussi sa plume qui, à plus d'un endroit, s'autorise quelques envolées lyriques de haute voltige.
December 27, 2022
I welcome books that encourage me to read further and to learn more. That’s why, when I saw that In the Belly of the Congo by Congolese-Canadian writer Blaise Ndala was being translated into English, and discussed issues about the Belgian occupation of Congo, I wanted to read it immediately. It was published in French in 2021, won the won the Prix Kourouma (Switzerland) and the Prix Ivoire for African Literature, and has been a finalist for several other prizes.He’s written two feted previous French language novels, but this is his first translated into English, by Amy B. Reid.
It follows two generations of Congolese women. First, the princess Tshala in the 1950s, culminating in her forced exhibition in Belgium's 1958 World’s Fair pavilion; and the second her niece Nyota in 2003 who comes to Belgium to research the disappearance of her aunt to bring closure to her Congolese royal family. It’s such a violent colonial history, and the scope of the book wisely used the Fair in 1958 as the focal point, giving the reader a focus.
I liked the educational aspect, and one of the nice things Ndala did was to tell the story from the female perspective. Despite these positives, I have to be honest and say that the book largely fell flat for me. After a promising beginning, I got a bit bored. The writing was technically good, but it suffered from far too much telling and not enough showing. There were lengthy digressive stories that didn’t serve the main plot, with heavy use of non-essential names, places and events that I knew nothing about. I felt the lack of character depth acutely; I desperately wanted to know more about the inner lives of these women.
It’s too bad that the writing style for me didn't amplify the messages the book held, because the subject is so worthy and important. As usual, I’m sure this is a matter of fit between reader and novel. Clearly many people have loved and appreciated this book, and that’s wonderful. It simply isn’t the type of writing that fits my taste.
I did like that the book ended on a somewhat positive note with hope of forgiveness and change with a new generation. The elder Congolese grandfather says near the end: “It’s not the wounds they inflict upon each other that matter the most once time finally lifts the veil from our illusions. What matters, son, is that the children who come after learn to build a less repugnant world than the one they inherited.”
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.
It follows two generations of Congolese women. First, the princess Tshala in the 1950s, culminating in her forced exhibition in Belgium's 1958 World’s Fair pavilion; and the second her niece Nyota in 2003 who comes to Belgium to research the disappearance of her aunt to bring closure to her Congolese royal family. It’s such a violent colonial history, and the scope of the book wisely used the Fair in 1958 as the focal point, giving the reader a focus.
I liked the educational aspect, and one of the nice things Ndala did was to tell the story from the female perspective. Despite these positives, I have to be honest and say that the book largely fell flat for me. After a promising beginning, I got a bit bored. The writing was technically good, but it suffered from far too much telling and not enough showing. There were lengthy digressive stories that didn’t serve the main plot, with heavy use of non-essential names, places and events that I knew nothing about. I felt the lack of character depth acutely; I desperately wanted to know more about the inner lives of these women.
It’s too bad that the writing style for me didn't amplify the messages the book held, because the subject is so worthy and important. As usual, I’m sure this is a matter of fit between reader and novel. Clearly many people have loved and appreciated this book, and that’s wonderful. It simply isn’t the type of writing that fits my taste.
I did like that the book ended on a somewhat positive note with hope of forgiveness and change with a new generation. The elder Congolese grandfather says near the end: “It’s not the wounds they inflict upon each other that matter the most once time finally lifts the veil from our illusions. What matters, son, is that the children who come after learn to build a less repugnant world than the one they inherited.”
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.
August 22, 2023
I'm waffling between 3 and 4 stars for In the Belly of the Congo. It was good; but not engaging. This could be because it was a translation; something often seems to get lost in the nuances and flow when it's translated to another language (from one to any language, not just English).
There are two POVs, 45 years apart, in this novel. The first one takes up about 70% of the novel and is, unfortunately, lackluster in comparison to the second. In fact it frustrated me that by the end of the novel you could tell the author had intentional written 'down' the first POV so it sounded less educated and made you think a certain way. While this may seem like brilliant writing (and it maybe is at an academic review level); it does not make this an enjoyable book to read, at least for me. The latter half of the book has an eloquence far above that of the first. With wonderful lines like this:
"A woman who'll teacher her child that no one is a prison of her genes, that life is a far richer adventure and not just an endless trial against the gods and their plots."
Even if the writing was only subpar for me; there is no doubt that In The Belly of the Congo tells a really important historical story that (I'm betting) most don't know. I certainly had no idea that in the World's Fair of 1958 (not that long ago!) there was an 'exhibit' of Congolese natives that was set-up like a zoo. It allowed visitors to the Fair to see the Congolese natives in their "natural form" by setting up a stage with bedding, food, cooking implements, etc. like they might have at home; and then those who had come to 'act' in the event were asked to show their culture.
This might sound like an interesting way, pre-video and Internet to show a culture; but in actual fact it was a cage to the Congolese actors. These people were put on display, for almost no compensation, to allow a bunch of white folks to gain money and notoriety. It's truly disgusting; and this is well conveyed by the end of the novel.
If nothing else I would encourage folks to learn about this awful exploitation; even if you don't chose to read the book.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
There are two POVs, 45 years apart, in this novel. The first one takes up about 70% of the novel and is, unfortunately, lackluster in comparison to the second. In fact it frustrated me that by the end of the novel you could tell the author had intentional written 'down' the first POV so it sounded less educated and made you think a certain way. While this may seem like brilliant writing (and it maybe is at an academic review level); it does not make this an enjoyable book to read, at least for me. The latter half of the book has an eloquence far above that of the first. With wonderful lines like this:
"A woman who'll teacher her child that no one is a prison of her genes, that life is a far richer adventure and not just an endless trial against the gods and their plots."
Even if the writing was only subpar for me; there is no doubt that In The Belly of the Congo tells a really important historical story that (I'm betting) most don't know. I certainly had no idea that in the World's Fair of 1958 (not that long ago!) there was an 'exhibit' of Congolese natives that was set-up like a zoo. It allowed visitors to the Fair to see the Congolese natives in their "natural form" by setting up a stage with bedding, food, cooking implements, etc. like they might have at home; and then those who had come to 'act' in the event were asked to show their culture.
This might sound like an interesting way, pre-video and Internet to show a culture; but in actual fact it was a cage to the Congolese actors. These people were put on display, for almost no compensation, to allow a bunch of white folks to gain money and notoriety. It's truly disgusting; and this is well conveyed by the end of the novel.
If nothing else I would encourage folks to learn about this awful exploitation; even if you don't chose to read the book.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
April 28, 2024
A strange one. It was technically skillful in the way it managed to thread together intersecting storylines and how it presented the nuanced interactions between Congolese characters (the infighting between different tribes, the burden of representation, etc.), but the second half of the book ultimately focused too much on sympathising with the colonisers. A pity, because the first half of the book had such an engrossing voice by way of Princess Tshala, but in the end I could not agree with the novel's politics.
He was handsome. Divine. Devilish. During the day, he smelled of death. At night, he was a whirlwind of the most exhilarating scents of the Kuba forest. The love of my life. The man responsible for my demise.
Getting close to him, or, really, letting him get close to me, got me burned. But when you're a butterfly in Kasaï, lulled to sleep by the melody of your own wingbeats in the humid night air, the only thing that matters in life is getting burned. Every breath brings you closer to forbidden flames. I came into this world to unsettle the peace of those around me. Whatever the cost.
And to end as dust.
February 13, 2024
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I think the translation hindered this book. There were many things that just didn't flow or make much sense but at not fault to the author. Otherwise I learned a lot from this book about the history of the Congo
I think the translation hindered this book. There were many things that just didn't flow or make much sense but at not fault to the author. Otherwise I learned a lot from this book about the history of the Congo
March 21, 2021
Lecture pas toujours facile, agréable seulement par moments. Livre abandonné à deux reprises; pourtant j’y revenais, tant le sujet et le contexte m’intéressaient. Tellement de parenthèses narratives sont ouvertes par l’auteur, que les moments (très) forts se noient dans une pluie d’interminables phrases et paraphrases, chroniques et anecdotes, fables et potins.
À sa face-même, la trame est fabuleuse. Elle a à son centre une princesse Congolaise, ayant fui sa famille pour échapper au déshonneur qu’elle a causé par une liaison avec un fonctionnaire Belge (blanc). Cette fuite la mènera, malgré elle, en Belgique, pays qui accueille en cette année-là, 1958, l’Exposition universelle, dont le contesté pavillon dédié au Congo accueillera les foules, puis les foudres du monde entier. D’emblée, le lecteur sait que 1958 est également l’année du décès de la princesse. Les circonstances de ce décès constituent d’ailleurs l’intrigue littéraire principale du roman, dont le dénouement est fort habilement présenté par l’auteur Blaise Ndala. La première partie de DANS LE VENTRE DU CONGO, c’est le fantôme de la princesse qui raconte son récit à sa nièce, quarante-sept ans plus tard. La seconde partie -moins bien ficelée que la première- est quant à elle racontée (en 2005 aussi) au grand-père, le Roi, par sa petite fille, la nièce de la princesse.
Le français est absolument impeccable. L’auteur utilise régulièrement le passé simple, ce qui a tout pour me plaire. Pourtant, ce qui m’a agacé tout au long de cette lecture réside justement dans l’écriture. Le ton étant très oral, je crois que j’aurais préféré entendre cette histoire, plutôt que de la lire.
Même si certains épisodes sont de niveau ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ et que l’écriture est exemplaire, j’accorde ⭐️⭐️ (it was ok), car la cote ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (I liked it) ne traduirait pas honnêtement mon expérience de lecture. Une déception, car mes attentes étaient élevées.
À sa face-même, la trame est fabuleuse. Elle a à son centre une princesse Congolaise, ayant fui sa famille pour échapper au déshonneur qu’elle a causé par une liaison avec un fonctionnaire Belge (blanc). Cette fuite la mènera, malgré elle, en Belgique, pays qui accueille en cette année-là, 1958, l’Exposition universelle, dont le contesté pavillon dédié au Congo accueillera les foules, puis les foudres du monde entier. D’emblée, le lecteur sait que 1958 est également l’année du décès de la princesse. Les circonstances de ce décès constituent d’ailleurs l’intrigue littéraire principale du roman, dont le dénouement est fort habilement présenté par l’auteur Blaise Ndala. La première partie de DANS LE VENTRE DU CONGO, c’est le fantôme de la princesse qui raconte son récit à sa nièce, quarante-sept ans plus tard. La seconde partie -moins bien ficelée que la première- est quant à elle racontée (en 2005 aussi) au grand-père, le Roi, par sa petite fille, la nièce de la princesse.
Le français est absolument impeccable. L’auteur utilise régulièrement le passé simple, ce qui a tout pour me plaire. Pourtant, ce qui m’a agacé tout au long de cette lecture réside justement dans l’écriture. Le ton étant très oral, je crois que j’aurais préféré entendre cette histoire, plutôt que de la lire.
Même si certains épisodes sont de niveau ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ et que l’écriture est exemplaire, j’accorde ⭐️⭐️ (it was ok), car la cote ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (I liked it) ne traduirait pas honnêtement mon expérience de lecture. Une déception, car mes attentes étaient élevées.
October 13, 2021
Une excellente lecture malgré quelques longueurs qui pose la question du fait colonial dans l’ancien Congo « belge ». Un récit qui donne furieusement envie d’approfondir certains aspects abordés. Quant à la plume, je l’ai trouvée agréable et ai apprécié le style.
February 15, 2025
“Still, he had held on to the wound and not life, to decadence and not revival. He said he was a man of a bygone era.”
This was a relatively good book to read for Black History Month, and all the more relevant when remembering the atrocities happening in the Congo as I write this in 2025. I appreciated that the copy I read had a concise yet informative chronology on the former Belgian Congo from 1885-2005, which put the novel in perspective for me. As someone who doesn't know much detail about this history, it was grounding to learn a little beyond the lessons about the scramble for Africa, King Leopold, and colonialism that I learned in high school, but I also wasn't bombarded with too much knowledge, so I was grateful for that. I also liked that this book had consistent footnotes and translations that allowed for the original language to remain on the text and not totally get swept up with the English. Even though this was a translation, I think the translator Amy B. Reid did a good job with Ndala's text, though of course that's just me going off of my gut feeling.
The act of actually reading the book was quite easy for me. I finished In the Belly of the Congo in under 24 hours; perhaps because the book read like one long oral speech rather than didactic textual diction. I wouldn't say I loved the book so much that I couldn't put it down, but it was certainly easy to pick up and keep going, like turning on the radio and passively listening to the spokesperson ramble on about the weather or current events. Even though Ndala's writing definitely suffered from far too much telling and not enough showing or allowance for interpretation, I can still confidently say I don't often encounter much of this type of writing style in fiction, and in a way it was quite spellbinding, especially the times when he opted for more crass, deadpan, and even vulgar language instead of the poetical kind I am used to. So many blunt references to shit, piss, vomit, semen, blood, farts, and even amniotic fluids, which gave the novel a very visceral and elegantly crude touch, if that makes sense. I liked that Ndala didn't shy away from depicting characters that used bold turns of phrase and different ways of talking. However, I would say that overall the unique writing style didn't amplify or serve the messages the book held all that well, especially since the main subject material is so complex and important:
"You must always remember this — never would the White Man have been able to conquer the multitudes that still lie at his feet centuries after they cried for ‘liberty’ . . . if he hadn’t already written their history for them."
Despite this great line, it didn't feel like Ndala took his own story seriously. True, a more casual, laid back approach to the issues at hand could have been promising, but it ended up coming off as selfishly blasé and sloppy -- the same kind of lazy ignorance Nyota criticized her athlete boyfriend for near the end of the book when he prioritized his career's success over honoring his Congo background.
I found the first half of the book with Princess Tshala a bit sluggish and frustrating (she sounded more like a delusional modern-day female lead in a steamy romance slash fairy porn novel rather than a member of a Congolese royal family in the 1950s). I did like how Ndala framed her part as like a grave or a monument speaking to her niece Nyota in 2003; you realize that it's the princess' ghost who is speaking and directly addressing Nyota in the second half, which was interesting narrative-wise, but more so insufferable with how shamelessly horny she was for a mediocre middle-aged white man. That was the book's biggest turn-off for me. She went on and on about how René Comhaire (with the culturally appropriated name Kunyaza, how dashing) was this sex god who turned into a fountain of orgasmic ecstasy, but his measly -- and frankly unsettling and cringe-worthy -- presence in the book was so underwhelmingly pathetic that I had secondhand embarrassment for this princess who had fallen so low for such a sad excuse for a man, who claimed to be anti-colonialism and progressive but did exactly what all colonizer men have done since the dawn of time to women of color. It wasn't romantic or passionate, and it was kind of insulting for Ndala to assume I would even entertain Comhaire's sexual assault, racism, pedophilia, grooming, and fetishization of Tshala's barely eighteen-year-old body as anything but horrendous. (You can imagine how I was 100% on Tshala's friend Kisita's side the entire time). That's why I can't really hail this novel as a feminist one despite Ndala choosing to center his story on the female perspective: His male gaze and exaggeratedly frantic sensuality severely clashed with his attempts to educate his readers on this unspoken and misunderstood part of history. Ironically, I'd even say Tshala's "affair" with Comhaire adds to that nexus of misinformation, because, no matter how you put it, colonized women simply are not that stupid in real life, much less initiated princesses on the cusp of adulthood. Tshala gave in so comically fast to Comhaire, which totally went against what Ndala was trying to tell me about her intelligence and strength as a character. I simply could not reconcile the woman who says stuff like, "If happiness is faceless, that’s because it doesn’t want to be recognized by those it leaves on the sidelines" with the same one who went on for paragraphs and paragraphs about stunning white penis. Girl, please.
Thankfully, that ridiculous horny nonsense was only a small part of the book, but the aftertaste of how out of touch it was to actual reality lingered throughout the rest of the story, which ultimately left ITBotC flat and yet also unnecessarily complicated with little to no reward. The middle parts of the book were very weak, especially the awkward transfer from Tshala's point of view to Nyota's. That being said, I liked that the novel orbited around the exhibition in Belgium's 1958 World's Fair in Brussels, which I had known about prior to reading this novel from a visit to a museum exhibition detailing its ugly colonial history. I appreciated that Ndala kept a sense of mystery and suspense with Nyota's investigation into her missing aunt, which leads her on a bit of a wild goose chase (complete with old cat ladies still fantasizing about fucking buxom African men). Ndala kept dangling the 1958 fair across the reader's eyes, making you want to turn the page to find out more of what happened and get past the weird side stories and dead ends. There were a lot of (at first) deliciously drawn out detours with small anecdotes and asides that held potential, but they ended up amounting to nothing since they provided very little commentary or insight into the history of the Belgian Congo and the princess' disappearance overall. There were lengthy digressive stories and character backgrounds (like Akwesa Kolosoy, who I found interesting but Ndala just chucked aside after a few pages), but these asides didn’t serve the main plot, turning the initially intriguing suspense into a type of blue balls narration.
When you did find out what actually happened, the timeline is still a bit scrambled and warped, and you feel like you got cheated more than reached any sort of clarity. So much buildup and the big reveal is that, wow, . How original. What's worse is that Ndala's description of it all -- the putrid racism of the entire episode, the violent attack on Tshala, her fight for her life in the hospital -- lacked emotional depth and effect. What could've been a very strong and reflective section that analyzed the 1958 fair and all its hideous injustices against the Congolese people it cruelly exploited, as well as the unfair and horrific role black women play in the midst of these chaotic events, became sanitized, indifferent, and boring. Ndala expressed no feeling or emotion for the people he tries to humanize and draw attention to -- in fact, you even get the sense he's mocking them for his own amusement. This notion extended and is even best represented in his two heroines Tshala and Nyota, who he praises left and right for being exemplary women, but almost every aspect he focuses on is related to their physical bodies, sexual attraction, and the effect their beauties have on men who cannot help but lust after them. The princess and her niece were extremely difficult to relate to and sympathize with beyond face value. The lack of character depth was astoundingly painful; I really wanted to know more about the inner lives of these women, but it was like Ndala cared more about convincing me they were goddess-like levels of sexy rather than human beings.
The book ending on a somewhat positive note with hope of forgiveness and change with new generations also felt superficial to me. The dying King Kena Kwete III, who was such a force of nature at the beginning of the book, says near the end:
“For as long as the earth has been our shared home, peoples have met, sometimes in joy, sometimes in pain, sometimes caught up in happiness, sometimes under the yoke of barbarity. It’s not the wounds they inflict upon each other that matter the most once time finally lifts the veil from our illusions. What matters, son, is that the children who come after learn to build a less repugnant world than the one they inherited.”
That sounds good and everything, gramps, but this truth and reconciliation smokes and mirrors bullshit didn't distract me well enough from the fact that you forgave and sympathized with the colonizers who destroyed your life, homeland, and family. This multigenerational novel delves into the history and human cost of colonialism in the Congo and you're here wasting the last few pages of the book holding hands and crying with a white man who has daddy issues that don't even compare to the misogyny and trauma you inflicted on your female children. Get real. Even though I did find the fading king's last moments quite touching as someone who has been a granddaughter witnessing an elder's final rites, everything about it felt like Ndala was pandering to a white savior audience. There was no anger or fire in this book that I would've expected as the bare minimum requirement when touching on such a rich, multilayered, and infuriating Congo history.
January 19, 2023
Blaise Ndala navigates with a poetic pen the troubled waters of the time of the Belgian Congo. This multigenerational novel explores the history and human cost of colonialism in the country. Through a series of events, the story takes place in Brussels and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1958 and in 2003.
Reading is not always easy and is enjoyable only at times. The author regularly uses the past tense which is not bad in itself. However annoying throughout this book is the writing style. The prose is a bit stilted and the tone very oral, I think I would have preferred to listen to it rather than reading it. So many narrative parentheses are opened by the author, that the strong moments are drowned in a rain of endless sentences and paraphrases, chronicles and anecdotes, fables and gossip. It is hard to connect to the story and the characters. Even with all the unnecessary detours we still learn a little about the history of the Belgian Congo but we get lost more than we find ourselves there.
I found this book hard to read and even more to review.
Thank you, Simon & Schuster for making this ARC available for me to read.
Reading is not always easy and is enjoyable only at times. The author regularly uses the past tense which is not bad in itself. However annoying throughout this book is the writing style. The prose is a bit stilted and the tone very oral, I think I would have preferred to listen to it rather than reading it. So many narrative parentheses are opened by the author, that the strong moments are drowned in a rain of endless sentences and paraphrases, chronicles and anecdotes, fables and gossip. It is hard to connect to the story and the characters. Even with all the unnecessary detours we still learn a little about the history of the Belgian Congo but we get lost more than we find ourselves there.
I found this book hard to read and even more to review.
Thank you, Simon & Schuster for making this ARC available for me to read.
January 11, 2023
3.5 stars rounded up to 4
In the Belly of the Congo is a two timeline story that takes place in Brussels and in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1958 and in 2003. Through a series of events in 1958, an African princess ends up travelling from Kinshasa to Brussels and goes missing during the World"s Fair where a group of people from the 'Belgian Congo' had been put on display in a "village" - essentially a human zoo where they were tormented by racist crowds. Her family never hears from her again and forty-five years later her niece arrives in Brussels to try to find any information she can about what happened to her aunt.
I found this to be a very difficult book to review. The soon-to-be-published English translation of the award-winning French novel by Congolese-Canadian author, Blaise Ndala, is very strong on relaying historical facts about the Democratic Republic of the Congo and showing the tragic human costs of colonialism in Africa. The prose, however, is a bit stilted (possibly because of translation) which makes it a little harder to connect to the story and the characters. An interesting story and a worthwhile read for the historical context alone.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
In the Belly of the Congo is a two timeline story that takes place in Brussels and in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1958 and in 2003. Through a series of events in 1958, an African princess ends up travelling from Kinshasa to Brussels and goes missing during the World"s Fair where a group of people from the 'Belgian Congo' had been put on display in a "village" - essentially a human zoo where they were tormented by racist crowds. Her family never hears from her again and forty-five years later her niece arrives in Brussels to try to find any information she can about what happened to her aunt.
I found this to be a very difficult book to review. The soon-to-be-published English translation of the award-winning French novel by Congolese-Canadian author, Blaise Ndala, is very strong on relaying historical facts about the Democratic Republic of the Congo and showing the tragic human costs of colonialism in Africa. The prose, however, is a bit stilted (possibly because of translation) which makes it a little harder to connect to the story and the characters. An interesting story and a worthwhile read for the historical context alone.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
January 1, 2024
This was not gripping.Genuinely lost in translation I think.
July 14, 2023
2.5
TW: Relationship and sex between an 18 year old and 32 year old, rape, dissociation, misogyny, abuse, mentions of body mutilation and murder, a person being kicked out of their home, racism, use of the n word, other racist slurs, colonisation, display of humans for white peoples entertainment, ableism, death of disabled person to further the plot.
This is a difficult book for me to rate. Honestly I was very curious about it when I was curating my libraries newsletter and it was a featured book, so I borrowed it and read it within a day.
I'm not going to lie, this is not a book that's going to hold your hand about the history of the Congo. And honestly, that's ok! Us white readers need to stop expecting history in fiction to be spelled out at every turn, and I honestly enjoyed doing research on so many aspects of the history of the Congo. This book does have a helpful timeline for the reader, but it's more an invitation for the reader to search more deeply to obtain more context. Because I dug a little deeper I understood more references and avoided confusion I've seen other reviewers mention. I'm happy to say I've come away from this book with more knowledge and desire to keep learning, which I think is the best outcome for historical fiction that's trying to relay the message this book is aiming for.
However I won't lie, some parts of the book were quite sluggish. Particularly near the end when the focus on on the niece. Honestly the entire second half of the book could have been easily cut by two thirds. I found myself quite bored at times, which was frustrating because I was enjoying the plot, but I was so bored by all the minuscule conversations.
Another discomfort was, of course, the relationship between Tshala (just turned 18) and Rene (age 32). The book doesn't condone this relationship, but it is uncomfortable to read about, especially as Rene is a white man in a position of power who is obviously a scumbag groomer who I hated with a passion. It was very uncomfortable having semi-detailed sex scenes between the two. We explore this relationship from Tshala's point of view, and she sees it as a lovesick 18 year old would - exiting and rebellious and 'real true love'. Her life is destroyed because of this man, and it was sad to see. Sadly this is a real world issue and Tshala's life after this is a tragic one.
The final message of this book felt a bit muddled for me. It seemed to both condemn the racist colonisation that occurred in the Congo by Belgium, but also at times excuse certain characters microaggressions. The relationship (even the portrayed 'healthy' ones) were iffy to me.
One character had a hatred for his dead father because during a house fire his father chose to save financial documents rather than his other son with Down's Syndrome's life. Of course there are issues with the ableism here. A disabled character is introduced as only a point to drive the plot of the abled characters and is promptly killed off. Ugh. But everyone is telling this man he has to forgive his father cause he just 'simply forgot' his son was home cause he was in the hospital for 5 days before... And then they found a journal that said he donated lots of money to 'cure' Down's syndrome, so see, wan't he actually a great guy worthy of forgiveness? Double ugh.
Last discomfort was the author always had the women described by their beauty, and never was one of the female characters without reeeaallly driving home how drop dead gorgeous the pretty women were and how unfortunate the small-chested women were. None of the male characters could refer to our two leads without describing beauty, and this really negatively feeds the exotification of BIPOC women. Which was odd because the author seemed to really want to focus on the issue of how sexualised our leads were by white men, but yet so much focus was taken to still drive home their physical beauty.
Would I suggest this book? Depends on the person. I'm glad I read it cause I learned so much and have a further appreciation for the history of the Democratic Rebublic of the Congo. Now I want to go further and learn about the culture and country.
TW: Relationship and sex between an 18 year old and 32 year old, rape, dissociation, misogyny, abuse, mentions of body mutilation and murder, a person being kicked out of their home, racism, use of the n word, other racist slurs, colonisation, display of humans for white peoples entertainment, ableism, death of disabled person to further the plot.
This is a difficult book for me to rate. Honestly I was very curious about it when I was curating my libraries newsletter and it was a featured book, so I borrowed it and read it within a day.
I'm not going to lie, this is not a book that's going to hold your hand about the history of the Congo. And honestly, that's ok! Us white readers need to stop expecting history in fiction to be spelled out at every turn, and I honestly enjoyed doing research on so many aspects of the history of the Congo. This book does have a helpful timeline for the reader, but it's more an invitation for the reader to search more deeply to obtain more context. Because I dug a little deeper I understood more references and avoided confusion I've seen other reviewers mention. I'm happy to say I've come away from this book with more knowledge and desire to keep learning, which I think is the best outcome for historical fiction that's trying to relay the message this book is aiming for.
However I won't lie, some parts of the book were quite sluggish. Particularly near the end when the focus on on the niece. Honestly the entire second half of the book could have been easily cut by two thirds. I found myself quite bored at times, which was frustrating because I was enjoying the plot, but I was so bored by all the minuscule conversations.
Another discomfort was, of course, the relationship between Tshala (just turned 18) and Rene (age 32). The book doesn't condone this relationship, but it is uncomfortable to read about, especially as Rene is a white man in a position of power who is obviously a scumbag groomer who I hated with a passion. It was very uncomfortable having semi-detailed sex scenes between the two. We explore this relationship from Tshala's point of view, and she sees it as a lovesick 18 year old would - exiting and rebellious and 'real true love'. Her life is destroyed because of this man, and it was sad to see. Sadly this is a real world issue and Tshala's life after this is a tragic one.
The final message of this book felt a bit muddled for me. It seemed to both condemn the racist colonisation that occurred in the Congo by Belgium, but also at times excuse certain characters microaggressions. The relationship (even the portrayed 'healthy' ones) were iffy to me.
One character had a hatred for his dead father because during a house fire his father chose to save financial documents rather than his other son with Down's Syndrome's life. Of course there are issues with the ableism here. A disabled character is introduced as only a point to drive the plot of the abled characters and is promptly killed off. Ugh. But everyone is telling this man he has to forgive his father cause he just 'simply forgot' his son was home cause he was in the hospital for 5 days before... And then they found a journal that said he donated lots of money to 'cure' Down's syndrome, so see, wan't he actually a great guy worthy of forgiveness? Double ugh.
Last discomfort was the author always had the women described by their beauty, and never was one of the female characters without reeeaallly driving home how drop dead gorgeous the pretty women were and how unfortunate the small-chested women were. None of the male characters could refer to our two leads without describing beauty, and this really negatively feeds the exotification of BIPOC women. Which was odd because the author seemed to really want to focus on the issue of how sexualised our leads were by white men, but yet so much focus was taken to still drive home their physical beauty.
Would I suggest this book? Depends on the person. I'm glad I read it cause I learned so much and have a further appreciation for the history of the Democratic Rebublic of the Congo. Now I want to go further and learn about the culture and country.
January 18, 2023
In the Belly of the Congo tells the story of the far reaching impact of Belgiums reign in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Canadian Congolese author Blaise Ndala tells a more recent history of Belgiums role in the Congo, with the 1958 World Expo.
Having read the non-fiction ‘King Leopolds Ghost’ by Adam Hothschild, I was really excited to read a more recent account by a Congolese author, and yet I found the writing just fell a little flat for me. This book is translated from French, so it may be a case of lost in translation, but I found the writing style rather dull, and it was challenging to absorb myself in the story as I found my mind was frequently wandering. I often struggle with male authors writing female characters, and I found a similar case with this book, being that it’s told from the point of view of 2 women, a lot of the dialogue and inner monologue was hard to relate to as a woman myself.
I do think that this is an important read. I think that what happened under King Leopolds reign in the Congo is vastly overlooked and underrepresented, and I really liked that this was a more recent interpretation of just how long and far Belgiums role in the Congo reaches. People think it was such a long time ago, and having family in Belgium myself, I know that it is still swept under the rug in schools what happened there, and to some degree what is still happening to this day.
It’s so embarrassing to think that In 1958, Belgium really thought it was a good idea to have a Congolese Village with real life black people, and the truth of it is horrific.
Overall I feel this is an important read for historical impact, and what happened in the Congo needs to be educated and more spoken about, however, I feel that some of the nuance of the book was lost in translation, as much of it fell flat in terms of pacing and attention grabbing and maintaining.
Canadian Congolese author Blaise Ndala tells a more recent history of Belgiums role in the Congo, with the 1958 World Expo.
Having read the non-fiction ‘King Leopolds Ghost’ by Adam Hothschild, I was really excited to read a more recent account by a Congolese author, and yet I found the writing just fell a little flat for me. This book is translated from French, so it may be a case of lost in translation, but I found the writing style rather dull, and it was challenging to absorb myself in the story as I found my mind was frequently wandering. I often struggle with male authors writing female characters, and I found a similar case with this book, being that it’s told from the point of view of 2 women, a lot of the dialogue and inner monologue was hard to relate to as a woman myself.
I do think that this is an important read. I think that what happened under King Leopolds reign in the Congo is vastly overlooked and underrepresented, and I really liked that this was a more recent interpretation of just how long and far Belgiums role in the Congo reaches. People think it was such a long time ago, and having family in Belgium myself, I know that it is still swept under the rug in schools what happened there, and to some degree what is still happening to this day.
It’s so embarrassing to think that In 1958, Belgium really thought it was a good idea to have a Congolese Village with real life black people, and the truth of it is horrific.
Overall I feel this is an important read for historical impact, and what happened in the Congo needs to be educated and more spoken about, however, I feel that some of the nuance of the book was lost in translation, as much of it fell flat in terms of pacing and attention grabbing and maintaining.
March 23, 2024
In the Belly of the Congo by Blaise Ndala, translated by Amy B. Reid
Expo'58 in Brussels was an international fair that became famous for various reasons - one of them being the "Atomium", a giant aerial structure representing the atom of an iron crystal 165 billion times magnified. It also gained much deserved infamy because of its display of a human zoo in the form of a Congolese village. Approx 600 actual people were "displayed" in this zoo, the section meant to demonstrate the Belgian colonialist claims of having "civilized" the "savage" natives.
This Expo'58 forms the backdrop of Blaise's novel. Two Kuba princesses of Kinshasa, two formidable young women, form the protagonists of the story. The story occurs in two time periods, 1957-58 and then 46 years later in 2004-05, with locations spanning from Brussels to the Belgian Congo. Some of the events and people in the story are not fiction, like Wendo Kolosoy, Patrice Lumumba and most significantly, the brutality and human cost of colonialism.
Like most descriptions of the book say, it is an ambitious story, told majorly in the form of first person narrative. In the first part, Tshala Nyota Moelo speaks to her niece Nyota Kwete, and in the second part, Nyota Kwete recites the story in the form of a monologue to her grandpa, King Kena Kwete III. The ancillary characters also have their own stories and ghosts to deal with. It is a very interesting writing style, with long sentences, and multiple character references for the same person. For the first 40% it took me a bit of getting used to, but once I caught the various threads running through the story, and read up a bit more about the history of the region, the next 60% caught pace.
There are plenty of trigger warnings. Rape, miscarriage, patriarchy, racism, sexual violence - are just a few that are at the top. The biggest trigger warning is the barbarism of the colonialist. No matter the number of books one reads and the stories one hears, the extent of exploitation will always remain deeply disturbing.
I think I will read the first 40% again after a few months because Tshala's voice will sound different now that I know exactly what happened to her eventually. It's a remarkable book, albeit a bit heavy.
I read this as a part of #translatedgemsbookclub 's March reading.
Expo'58 in Brussels was an international fair that became famous for various reasons - one of them being the "Atomium", a giant aerial structure representing the atom of an iron crystal 165 billion times magnified. It also gained much deserved infamy because of its display of a human zoo in the form of a Congolese village. Approx 600 actual people were "displayed" in this zoo, the section meant to demonstrate the Belgian colonialist claims of having "civilized" the "savage" natives.
This Expo'58 forms the backdrop of Blaise's novel. Two Kuba princesses of Kinshasa, two formidable young women, form the protagonists of the story. The story occurs in two time periods, 1957-58 and then 46 years later in 2004-05, with locations spanning from Brussels to the Belgian Congo. Some of the events and people in the story are not fiction, like Wendo Kolosoy, Patrice Lumumba and most significantly, the brutality and human cost of colonialism.
Like most descriptions of the book say, it is an ambitious story, told majorly in the form of first person narrative. In the first part, Tshala Nyota Moelo speaks to her niece Nyota Kwete, and in the second part, Nyota Kwete recites the story in the form of a monologue to her grandpa, King Kena Kwete III. The ancillary characters also have their own stories and ghosts to deal with. It is a very interesting writing style, with long sentences, and multiple character references for the same person. For the first 40% it took me a bit of getting used to, but once I caught the various threads running through the story, and read up a bit more about the history of the region, the next 60% caught pace.
There are plenty of trigger warnings. Rape, miscarriage, patriarchy, racism, sexual violence - are just a few that are at the top. The biggest trigger warning is the barbarism of the colonialist. No matter the number of books one reads and the stories one hears, the extent of exploitation will always remain deeply disturbing.
I think I will read the first 40% again after a few months because Tshala's voice will sound different now that I know exactly what happened to her eventually. It's a remarkable book, albeit a bit heavy.
I read this as a part of #translatedgemsbookclub 's March reading.
January 11, 2023
3.5 stars rounded up to 4
In the Belly of the Congo is a two timeline story that takes place in Brussels and in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1958 and in 2003. Through a series of events in 1958, an African princess ends up travelling from Kinshasa to Brussels and goes missing during the World"s Fair where a group of people from the 'Belgian Congo' had been put on display in a "village" - essentially a human zoo where they were tormented by racist crowds. Her family never hears from her again and forty-five years later her niece arrives in Brussels to try to find any information she can about what happened to her aunt.
I found this to be a very difficult book to review. The soon-to-be-published English translation of the award-winning French novel by Congolese-Canadian author, Blaise Ndala, is very strong on relaying historical facts about the Democratic Republic of the Congo and showing the tragic human costs of colonialism in Africa. The prose, however, is a bit stilted (possibly because of translation) which makes it a little harder to connect to the story and the characters. An interesting story and a worthwhile read for the historical context alone.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
In the Belly of the Congo is a two timeline story that takes place in Brussels and in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1958 and in 2003. Through a series of events in 1958, an African princess ends up travelling from Kinshasa to Brussels and goes missing during the World"s Fair where a group of people from the 'Belgian Congo' had been put on display in a "village" - essentially a human zoo where they were tormented by racist crowds. Her family never hears from her again and forty-five years later her niece arrives in Brussels to try to find any information she can about what happened to her aunt.
I found this to be a very difficult book to review. The soon-to-be-published English translation of the award-winning French novel by Congolese-Canadian author, Blaise Ndala, is very strong on relaying historical facts about the Democratic Republic of the Congo and showing the tragic human costs of colonialism in Africa. The prose, however, is a bit stilted (possibly because of translation) which makes it a little harder to connect to the story and the characters. An interesting story and a worthwhile read for the historical context alone.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
January 15, 2023
This is part mystery, part history of the political climate in Belgium and the Congo in the late 1950s. The stories weave around one another seamlessly. The first part of the story around Tshala and how she wound up in Belgium was fascinating and fast-paced. I did find the pace of later part of the story around Nyota slower as much more was recounting information that had already occured, rather than us being part of it as it took place. Even so, this was a gripping story that kept me engaged from beginning to end.
January 3, 2025
Superbe roman qui m’a fait m’intéressé à un moment historique que je connaissais peu. L’auteur a une plume magnifique et sait jongler avec les mots. Définitivement un coup de cœur ❤️
January 24, 2023
For the history of the book, for the research, writing and editing, I would rate this book as a 5, for the enjoyability of the book, I would rate it as a 3, so will average as a 4.
This was my first read by Blaise Ndala, and before this read, I knew very little of Belgian Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the colonizers or the rape of so many villages and Kingdoms including the Kuba dynasty in the Congo. The story spans from the World's Fair of 1958 up to the early 2000's, while giving history from the earlier past. There is a lot of intergenerational history, there is sadness, there is love, there is shame - lives lost, cultures destroyed, history and artifacts stolen - domination by people who knew better and who should have done better.
It's a difficult book, but it's a book that needs to be read for history to be understood. My criticism would be that too much was trying to be accomplished in the story, which meant the readers could become exhausted with so many names, so many places, so many events. Well-done, Blaise Ndala, on all your research and putting this story together.
I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley and want to thank them and the publisher, Simon & Schuster for giving me the opportunity to read it and give my honest opinion.
This was my first read by Blaise Ndala, and before this read, I knew very little of Belgian Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the colonizers or the rape of so many villages and Kingdoms including the Kuba dynasty in the Congo. The story spans from the World's Fair of 1958 up to the early 2000's, while giving history from the earlier past. There is a lot of intergenerational history, there is sadness, there is love, there is shame - lives lost, cultures destroyed, history and artifacts stolen - domination by people who knew better and who should have done better.
It's a difficult book, but it's a book that needs to be read for history to be understood. My criticism would be that too much was trying to be accomplished in the story, which meant the readers could become exhausted with so many names, so many places, so many events. Well-done, Blaise Ndala, on all your research and putting this story together.
I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley and want to thank them and the publisher, Simon & Schuster for giving me the opportunity to read it and give my honest opinion.
March 3, 2024
Encore un énième livre sur la complexe histoire coloniale ai-je pensé au début. Mais l’humour caustique de Blaise Ndala rend la lecture entraînante dès les premières pages. Comme la plupart des romans « historiques », il tombe dans le piège de la multitude de personnages qu’on a du mal à suivre par moments et parfois aussi de dialogues qui n’ont rien de naturel. Pour autant, j’ai savouré chaque page. Parce que comme le dit si bien l’auteur, il ne faut pas seulement plonger dans le ventre du Congo, mais aussi explorer le pan de « l’histoire qui ne raconte pas que Diego Cão, David Livingston, Henry Morton Stanley, Leopold II, Tippo Tip, Baudouin Ier, Lumumba, Mobutu et Kabila ». Blaise Ndala est un excellent conteur qui donne envie d’en savoir plus sur l’histoire du Congo « belge ».
November 8, 2024
second read (11/24):
this book is what im using for my thesis and it's originally in french but i'm reading the english translation because i'm a loser. anyways! i'm supposed to have read this many many times by now but in a state of permanent burnt out spanning two very long years, i ended up reading this book for the first time just for the sake of finishing it so it very much felt like a chore and i barely even grasped half of it. which in hindsight explains why i have not progressed because i do not even understand my main object of study. anyways! i enjoyed it so much more the second time around. i read it to read it and not just to finish it this time. and i understood so much more things and even nearly teared up at the end 🙁 the main problem with this book that made it so hard the first time is that a lot of these characters go on these very long monologues that end in tangents that have nothing to do with the story. so it felt less engaging and more info dumping about things that do not even matter!!! like the build up to a certain turning point would take ten pages of yapping and then the turning point itself would just be one page of description and then nothing else. so much telling and not enough showing. but i had more patience this time and got through it fine. overall i think this book touches on very important matters and delivered the story nicely. a historical fiction like this could be a good introduction to the attrocities of belgian and congolese history and make people want to learn more about Real history as this was my first time learning about these things too. i surprisingly loved the themes of forgiveness and how the book regards the past. that no matter what awful things happened, the past is still past and there is absolutely nothing you can do to change it. the only thing you can do is learn from it and actively work towards creating a better future. i think i needed that personally... excited to go into my analysis please pray i graduate before i kill myself haha what
first read (10/23):
very powerful book and i did like many things about it yeah but this is what im using for my thesis therefore i cannot like it (as in it feels like a chore)
this book is what im using for my thesis and it's originally in french but i'm reading the english translation because i'm a loser. anyways! i'm supposed to have read this many many times by now but in a state of permanent burnt out spanning two very long years, i ended up reading this book for the first time just for the sake of finishing it so it very much felt like a chore and i barely even grasped half of it. which in hindsight explains why i have not progressed because i do not even understand my main object of study. anyways! i enjoyed it so much more the second time around. i read it to read it and not just to finish it this time. and i understood so much more things and even nearly teared up at the end 🙁 the main problem with this book that made it so hard the first time is that a lot of these characters go on these very long monologues that end in tangents that have nothing to do with the story. so it felt less engaging and more info dumping about things that do not even matter!!! like the build up to a certain turning point would take ten pages of yapping and then the turning point itself would just be one page of description and then nothing else. so much telling and not enough showing. but i had more patience this time and got through it fine. overall i think this book touches on very important matters and delivered the story nicely. a historical fiction like this could be a good introduction to the attrocities of belgian and congolese history and make people want to learn more about Real history as this was my first time learning about these things too. i surprisingly loved the themes of forgiveness and how the book regards the past. that no matter what awful things happened, the past is still past and there is absolutely nothing you can do to change it. the only thing you can do is learn from it and actively work towards creating a better future. i think i needed that personally... excited to go into my analysis please pray i graduate before i kill myself haha what
first read (10/23):
very powerful book and i did like many things about it yeah but this is what im using for my thesis therefore i cannot like it (as in it feels like a chore)
March 9, 2023
3.5 Stars
This novel has two timelines, though events in both are connected to the 1958 World’s Fair hosted by Belgium. Trying to portray itself as a benevolent colonial power, the country, in its pavilion, included a mock village where Congolese people were put on daily display. This became known as the world’s last human zoo.
After her death in 1958, Princess Tshala Nyota, daughter of King Kena Kwete III of the Kuba people in Congo, recounts her life and the journey that brought her to Belgium after she fell in love with a white Belgian administrator and fled from her father’s rage. Her story, addressed directly to her niece, comprises the first part of the novel.
The second time period is 2005. Nyota Kwete, the princess’s niece, has returned to the Congo and is visiting her grandfather in a hospital. She spent the previous two years in Brussels where she had been sent for a university education and to discover what happened to her aunt who disappeared in 1958. In the second part of the novel, she speaks of her time in Belgium and how and what she learned about the fate of her namesake.
My knowledge of Congolese history is very limited so I appreciated the chronological historical overview of the former Belgian Congo at the beginning of the novel. Some of the historical figures mentioned in this introduction (e.g. Patrice Lumumba and Joseph-Désiré Mobutu) actually appear as characters in the novel.
I did not like the writing style. There is much too much telling and not enough showing. Then there are the unnecessary anecdotes and digressions. Nyota in her conversation with her grandfather describes a walk to a theater and names streets but then ends with, “’okay, don’t worry about all those street names, they really don’t matter.’” The same speaker says, “Versace is an Italian brand that some of our stars of the rumba scene have transformed into an urban totem. But really, that’s got nothing to do with our story. I should stop going off on tangents.” Then she tells the friend whom she has brought with her “to speak simply, without any unnecessary detours”!? Sometimes the dialogue just seems like an information dump: “Unilever (the company to which the state ceded half of our sacred forests at the start of the 1970s).”
The dialogue certainly doesn’t seem natural: “We headed toward the Bois de la Cambre, the sporadic clicking of his bicycle spokes setting the pace for our steps along the sidewalk, now wet from a little shower that had quickly come and gone. In the distance, towards Flagey, along the Ixelles Ponds where I would go every other Sunday or so to commune with a play by Maryse Condé or the poetry of the Palestinian Mahmoud Darwish, whose work my previous boyfriend had adored, the firefighters’ sirens wailed and their lights spun in a kaleidoscope of brilliant flashes.” Who speaks like this? Nyota stops to explain to her grandfather the meaning of words like stock market and psychologist but then makes geographic and literary references that would mean nothing to him?
There is little to differentiate the dialogue of aunt and niece. This is an example of the princess’s narration: “you lived in a city where a melody composed by an incorrigible seducer could make allies of men in cassocks and those with military decorations, each trying to determine the sex of the Angel of the Apocalypse. And that if you were that dark-skinned angel, you could follow the river’s flow toward exile, never knowing if it would ever end, or even leave you a voice so that you might still pretend you were a Black god at an ungodly bacchanal.”
The novel excels in depicting the human cost of colonialism. I definitely found similarities between the cultural genocide experienced by the Congolese and Indigenous Peoples in Canada. The princess is educated in a Christian school run by nuns and when she references a custom of her people, “The Belgian nun almost died laughing, stunned that I still held on to ‘those beliefs shared by Beelzebub’s children.’” Attitudes of colonizers are obvious in the unmarked graves of children found in residential schools in Canada and the keeping of “more than two hundred fetuses, skulls, and other African skeletal remains” by Belgian institutions.
And it is so sad that so much has not changed. The villagers in the World’s Fair display are subjected to racist comments and gestures: “some adolescents from a classical high school in Flemish Brabant tossed bananas over the fence around the village . . . [and] some visitors started to whoop like monkeys.” And Nyota witnesses a Congolese soccer player being subjected to insults, “’Monkey! Monkey! Go back to your jungle!’”
The message is that Belgium must critically confront its colonial legacy. A government minister in the novel states that “Belgium wasn’t yet ready to reopen that painful page from its past.” And recent events indicate this is true: In December 2022 there were plans for human remains, three skulls from the colonial era, to be exhibited and auctioned in Belgium (https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article...).
Despite the horrors depicted, the book does end on a positive note. Nyota’s grandfather, a former king, says, “’It’s not the wounds they inflict upon each other that matter the most once time finally lifts the veil from our illusions. What matters . . . is that the children who come after learn to build a less repugnant world than the one they inherited.’” He even goes on to tell a Belgian visitor how Belgians can create a better future: “’while you can do nothing more for my daughter, there in the land of your ancestors where she rests, day and night, season after season, tens of thousands of others are arriving . . . ‘” Another character earlier also mentions that immigration and “open borders were the solution and not the problem” for menopausal Europe where a declining birth rate may bring about a collapse of the workforce.
Its subject matter makes this book an essential read. It informs about Belgian’s colonial past and its devastating impact and serves as a mirror for the colonial history of other countries. Unfortunately, the writing style is not an asset. Anyone considering reading the book might want to play some background music by Wendo Kolosoy, the father of Congolese rumba, who makes an appearance in the novel.
Note: I received a digital galley from the publisher via NetGalley.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).
This novel has two timelines, though events in both are connected to the 1958 World’s Fair hosted by Belgium. Trying to portray itself as a benevolent colonial power, the country, in its pavilion, included a mock village where Congolese people were put on daily display. This became known as the world’s last human zoo.
After her death in 1958, Princess Tshala Nyota, daughter of King Kena Kwete III of the Kuba people in Congo, recounts her life and the journey that brought her to Belgium after she fell in love with a white Belgian administrator and fled from her father’s rage. Her story, addressed directly to her niece, comprises the first part of the novel.
The second time period is 2005. Nyota Kwete, the princess’s niece, has returned to the Congo and is visiting her grandfather in a hospital. She spent the previous two years in Brussels where she had been sent for a university education and to discover what happened to her aunt who disappeared in 1958. In the second part of the novel, she speaks of her time in Belgium and how and what she learned about the fate of her namesake.
My knowledge of Congolese history is very limited so I appreciated the chronological historical overview of the former Belgian Congo at the beginning of the novel. Some of the historical figures mentioned in this introduction (e.g. Patrice Lumumba and Joseph-Désiré Mobutu) actually appear as characters in the novel.
I did not like the writing style. There is much too much telling and not enough showing. Then there are the unnecessary anecdotes and digressions. Nyota in her conversation with her grandfather describes a walk to a theater and names streets but then ends with, “’okay, don’t worry about all those street names, they really don’t matter.’” The same speaker says, “Versace is an Italian brand that some of our stars of the rumba scene have transformed into an urban totem. But really, that’s got nothing to do with our story. I should stop going off on tangents.” Then she tells the friend whom she has brought with her “to speak simply, without any unnecessary detours”!? Sometimes the dialogue just seems like an information dump: “Unilever (the company to which the state ceded half of our sacred forests at the start of the 1970s).”
The dialogue certainly doesn’t seem natural: “We headed toward the Bois de la Cambre, the sporadic clicking of his bicycle spokes setting the pace for our steps along the sidewalk, now wet from a little shower that had quickly come and gone. In the distance, towards Flagey, along the Ixelles Ponds where I would go every other Sunday or so to commune with a play by Maryse Condé or the poetry of the Palestinian Mahmoud Darwish, whose work my previous boyfriend had adored, the firefighters’ sirens wailed and their lights spun in a kaleidoscope of brilliant flashes.” Who speaks like this? Nyota stops to explain to her grandfather the meaning of words like stock market and psychologist but then makes geographic and literary references that would mean nothing to him?
There is little to differentiate the dialogue of aunt and niece. This is an example of the princess’s narration: “you lived in a city where a melody composed by an incorrigible seducer could make allies of men in cassocks and those with military decorations, each trying to determine the sex of the Angel of the Apocalypse. And that if you were that dark-skinned angel, you could follow the river’s flow toward exile, never knowing if it would ever end, or even leave you a voice so that you might still pretend you were a Black god at an ungodly bacchanal.”
The novel excels in depicting the human cost of colonialism. I definitely found similarities between the cultural genocide experienced by the Congolese and Indigenous Peoples in Canada. The princess is educated in a Christian school run by nuns and when she references a custom of her people, “The Belgian nun almost died laughing, stunned that I still held on to ‘those beliefs shared by Beelzebub’s children.’” Attitudes of colonizers are obvious in the unmarked graves of children found in residential schools in Canada and the keeping of “more than two hundred fetuses, skulls, and other African skeletal remains” by Belgian institutions.
And it is so sad that so much has not changed. The villagers in the World’s Fair display are subjected to racist comments and gestures: “some adolescents from a classical high school in Flemish Brabant tossed bananas over the fence around the village . . . [and] some visitors started to whoop like monkeys.” And Nyota witnesses a Congolese soccer player being subjected to insults, “’Monkey! Monkey! Go back to your jungle!’”
The message is that Belgium must critically confront its colonial legacy. A government minister in the novel states that “Belgium wasn’t yet ready to reopen that painful page from its past.” And recent events indicate this is true: In December 2022 there were plans for human remains, three skulls from the colonial era, to be exhibited and auctioned in Belgium (https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article...).
Despite the horrors depicted, the book does end on a positive note. Nyota’s grandfather, a former king, says, “’It’s not the wounds they inflict upon each other that matter the most once time finally lifts the veil from our illusions. What matters . . . is that the children who come after learn to build a less repugnant world than the one they inherited.’” He even goes on to tell a Belgian visitor how Belgians can create a better future: “’while you can do nothing more for my daughter, there in the land of your ancestors where she rests, day and night, season after season, tens of thousands of others are arriving . . . ‘” Another character earlier also mentions that immigration and “open borders were the solution and not the problem” for menopausal Europe where a declining birth rate may bring about a collapse of the workforce.
Its subject matter makes this book an essential read. It informs about Belgian’s colonial past and its devastating impact and serves as a mirror for the colonial history of other countries. Unfortunately, the writing style is not an asset. Anyone considering reading the book might want to play some background music by Wendo Kolosoy, the father of Congolese rumba, who makes an appearance in the novel.
Note: I received a digital galley from the publisher via NetGalley.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).
January 20, 2022
« Parce que le monde t’a accueillie ce jour en témoin de l’inexpiable, tu seras un homme, ma fille! »
Dans ce roman, nous suivons l’histoire de la princesse Tshala Nyota Moelo, princesse du prestigieux royaume précolonial Kuba, puis de sa nièce homonyne, Nyota; « étoile à qui le fleuve demande son chemin ». Tshala, en tombant amoureuse d’un jeune colon Belge, s’affranchit de ce titre royal et fuit sa ville natale pour obtenir la protection de son amant à Léopoldville (Kinshasa aujourd’hui). Malheureusement, Tshala commit l’un des pires crimes qu’une femme peut commettre aux yeux de l’homme fier : l’humilier. Ainsi, elle voyagera jusqu’en Belgique pour l’exposition de 1958 et où, 45 ans plus tard, sa nièce tentera de la retracer afin de trouver les derniers morceaux d’un puzzle familial qui permettrait au roi Kuba d’enfin trouver la paix.
Blaise Ndala navigue avec une plume poétique dans les eaux troubles qu’était l’époque du Congo Belge. La note imparfaite que je lui donne s’explique par le simple fait qu’on retrouve dans ce livre de nombreux personnages et quelques époques qui s’entremêlent sans que tous les liens soient bien expliqués, ce qui peut perdre un peu le lecteur. Autrement, l’histoire est aussi poignante que la plume est chantante; une belle lecture à faire au son de la musique de Wendo Kolosoy (qu’on retrouve d’ailleurs dans ce livre!) et qui pousse très certainement à la réflexion.
Dans ce roman, nous suivons l’histoire de la princesse Tshala Nyota Moelo, princesse du prestigieux royaume précolonial Kuba, puis de sa nièce homonyne, Nyota; « étoile à qui le fleuve demande son chemin ». Tshala, en tombant amoureuse d’un jeune colon Belge, s’affranchit de ce titre royal et fuit sa ville natale pour obtenir la protection de son amant à Léopoldville (Kinshasa aujourd’hui). Malheureusement, Tshala commit l’un des pires crimes qu’une femme peut commettre aux yeux de l’homme fier : l’humilier. Ainsi, elle voyagera jusqu’en Belgique pour l’exposition de 1958 et où, 45 ans plus tard, sa nièce tentera de la retracer afin de trouver les derniers morceaux d’un puzzle familial qui permettrait au roi Kuba d’enfin trouver la paix.
Blaise Ndala navigue avec une plume poétique dans les eaux troubles qu’était l’époque du Congo Belge. La note imparfaite que je lui donne s’explique par le simple fait qu’on retrouve dans ce livre de nombreux personnages et quelques époques qui s’entremêlent sans que tous les liens soient bien expliqués, ce qui peut perdre un peu le lecteur. Autrement, l’histoire est aussi poignante que la plume est chantante; une belle lecture à faire au son de la musique de Wendo Kolosoy (qu’on retrouve d’ailleurs dans ce livre!) et qui pousse très certainement à la réflexion.
January 24, 2024
J’ai bien aimé ma lecture. Contrairement à ce que la quatrième de couverture peut laisser entendre, l’histoire centrale n’est pas l’exposition universelle de 1958 (bien que l’événement joue un rôle de structure pour l’histoire). Je ne savais pas avec certitude où se dirigeait l’histoire dans les cinquantes premières pages, mais on embarque vite dans le récit. Ma principale critique serait plutôt qu’on retrouve un trop grand nombre de protagonistes qui, à tour de rôle, portent chacun une part de l’histoire. Bien qu’en bout de ligne, l’histoire reste cohérente, une narration moins saccadée aurait probablement aidée le lecteur.trice à suivre!
June 21, 2021
J’ai entendu parler de ce Bouquin dans la “Librairie Francophone” sur Inter. Certains avaient adoré... d’autres n’avaient pas aimé la profusion de détails et de personnages. Et j’ai aimé cette profusion. Cette confusion, cette fusion des cultures sur fond de Matonge. Je suis bruxelloise, et j’ai aimé ma ville dans les yeux de Blaise Ndala. J’ai aimé sa tendresse pour nos 2 pays - longtemps pareillement dans la confusion. Et j’ai aimé l’espoir... celui du pardon réciproque. Merci Blaise pour ce livre rare.
July 23, 2021
Je n’ai pas apprécié l’écriture truffée de fioritures, de légende non accessible et de détours inutiles. On apprend quand même un peu sur l’histoire du Congo belge mais on s’y perd plus qu’on s’y trouve.
February 14, 2023
I wish to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review. I was very interested in reading this. I joined a small group tenting in the Congo in 1990 and learned a bit about the oppressive Belgian colonialism. There was violence and deaths, cultures destroyed, artifacts stolen, and natural resources mined for their wealth. I skimmed through much of the book. I regret that I had difficulty with the writing style and the structure of the book and failed to engage with the story.
I thought some of it read like a dull history text and was stilted in tone. The characters lacked depth. I was not feeling the human emotions, and the pacing seemed off to me. I thought the book contained unnecessary anecdotes, fables and, too many digressions, non-essential names of people and places. I kept trying but wasn't getting absorbed in the narrative, which I sometimes found flat and dull.
This is the first of the author Blaise Ndala's novels to be translated into English, and his French books have been highly praised and awarded literary prizes. He is a Canadian/Congolese lawyer who emigrated to Canada in 2007. His literary works won the Prix Koarouma (Switzerland) in 2021 and the Prix Ivoire for African Literature. In 2014 he won the Ottawa book award in French, and in 2019 won for Combat des Livres. I don't understand why I wasn't riveted by the story. Maybe the editing or translation didn't work for me.
Central to the story was the human cost of colonialism. In 1958, a World's Fair was held in Brussels. one of its seven pavilions was to showcase their success in the Congo. Congolese people were displayed in a 'human zoo' where racist crowds ridiculed them. One of the people put on display was princess Tshala, daughter of the king of the Kuba people. She vanished. Forty-five years later, her niece is in Brussels and on a mission to learn what happened to her. Human zoos seem so wrong by modern standards, and similar exhibitions displayed indigenous people in European countries and in North America. I must add that the cover is gorgeous
It is evident that the author did a great deal of meticulous research, providing us with a history of the exploitation of the Congolese people and its country's rich resources.
I thought some of it read like a dull history text and was stilted in tone. The characters lacked depth. I was not feeling the human emotions, and the pacing seemed off to me. I thought the book contained unnecessary anecdotes, fables and, too many digressions, non-essential names of people and places. I kept trying but wasn't getting absorbed in the narrative, which I sometimes found flat and dull.
This is the first of the author Blaise Ndala's novels to be translated into English, and his French books have been highly praised and awarded literary prizes. He is a Canadian/Congolese lawyer who emigrated to Canada in 2007. His literary works won the Prix Koarouma (Switzerland) in 2021 and the Prix Ivoire for African Literature. In 2014 he won the Ottawa book award in French, and in 2019 won for Combat des Livres. I don't understand why I wasn't riveted by the story. Maybe the editing or translation didn't work for me.
Central to the story was the human cost of colonialism. In 1958, a World's Fair was held in Brussels. one of its seven pavilions was to showcase their success in the Congo. Congolese people were displayed in a 'human zoo' where racist crowds ridiculed them. One of the people put on display was princess Tshala, daughter of the king of the Kuba people. She vanished. Forty-five years later, her niece is in Brussels and on a mission to learn what happened to her. Human zoos seem so wrong by modern standards, and similar exhibitions displayed indigenous people in European countries and in North America. I must add that the cover is gorgeous
It is evident that the author did a great deal of meticulous research, providing us with a history of the exploitation of the Congolese people and its country's rich resources.
January 18, 2023
In the Belly of the Congo tells the story of the far reaching impact of Belgiums reign in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Canadian Congolese author Blaise Ndala tells a more recent history of Belgiums role in the Congo, with the 1958 World Expo.
Having read the non-fiction ‘King Leopolds Ghost’ by Adam Hothschild, I was really excited to read a more recent account by a Congolese author, and yet I found the writing just fell a little flat for me. This book is translated from French, so it may be a case of lost in translation, but I found the writing style rather dull, and it was challenging to absorb myself in the story as I found my mind was frequently wandering. I often struggle with male authors writing female characters, and I found a similar case with this book, being that it’s told from the point of view of 2 women, a lot of the dialogue and inner monologue was hard to relate to as a woman myself.
I do think that this is an important read. I think that what happened under King Leopolds reign in the Congo is vastly overlooked and underrepresented, and I really liked that this was a more recent interpretation of just how long and far Belgiums role in the Congo reaches. People think it was such a long time ago, and having family in Belgium myself, I know that it is still swept under the rug in schools what happened there, and to some degree what is still happening to this day.
It’s so embarrassing to think that In 1958, Belgium really thought it was a good idea to have a Congolese Village with real life black people, and the truth of it is horrific.
Overall I feel this is an important read for historical impact, and what happened in the Congo needs to be educated and more spoken about, however, I feel that some of the nuance of the book was lost in translation, as much of it fell flat in terms of pacing and attention grabbing and maintaining.
Canadian Congolese author Blaise Ndala tells a more recent history of Belgiums role in the Congo, with the 1958 World Expo.
Having read the non-fiction ‘King Leopolds Ghost’ by Adam Hothschild, I was really excited to read a more recent account by a Congolese author, and yet I found the writing just fell a little flat for me. This book is translated from French, so it may be a case of lost in translation, but I found the writing style rather dull, and it was challenging to absorb myself in the story as I found my mind was frequently wandering. I often struggle with male authors writing female characters, and I found a similar case with this book, being that it’s told from the point of view of 2 women, a lot of the dialogue and inner monologue was hard to relate to as a woman myself.
I do think that this is an important read. I think that what happened under King Leopolds reign in the Congo is vastly overlooked and underrepresented, and I really liked that this was a more recent interpretation of just how long and far Belgiums role in the Congo reaches. People think it was such a long time ago, and having family in Belgium myself, I know that it is still swept under the rug in schools what happened there, and to some degree what is still happening to this day.
It’s so embarrassing to think that In 1958, Belgium really thought it was a good idea to have a Congolese Village with real life black people, and the truth of it is horrific.
Overall I feel this is an important read for historical impact, and what happened in the Congo needs to be educated and more spoken about, however, I feel that some of the nuance of the book was lost in translation, as much of it fell flat in terms of pacing and attention grabbing and maintaining.
December 8, 2025
Свашта је овде Блез Ндала помешао - и Велику изложбу 1958. године у Бриселу, са чувеним конгоанским селом, колоквијално названим "људским зоо-вртом", и (пост)колонијално наслеђе и експлоатацију, и питање идентитета, и локалне конгоанске краљевине пре колонијалног времена, њихове обичаје и митове, па затим и Патриса Лумумбу, породичне тајне, расизам на фудбалским теренима и у друштву уопште... Ма нема чега нема. Писац је хтео да проникне у саму срж, у утробу те чудесне земље Конго (отуда и наслов, који се може превести као У утроби Конга).
Све те теме свакако јесу важне и о њима треба говорити у литерарним делима, али ово је невешто изведено, некако изгледа накалемљено. Догађаји се често само чудесно одигравају, без логичне узрочно-последичне везе, превише је ликова, превише је случајности. Много је и рукаваца који не доприносе причи, а језик је повремено лиричан и Ндала користи десет речи, тамо где би могао да употреби две или три.
Све у свему, требало је ово скратити, јер теме јесу занимљиве, али реализација је подбацила.
Све те теме свакако јесу важне и о њима треба говорити у литерарним делима, али ово је невешто изведено, некако изгледа накалемљено. Догађаји се често само чудесно одигравају, без логичне узрочно-последичне везе, превише је ликова, превише је случајности. Много је и рукаваца који не доприносе причи, а језик је повремено лиричан и Ндала користи десет речи, тамо где би могао да употреби две или три.
Све у свему, требало је ово скратити, јер теме јесу занимљиве, али реализација је подбацила.
March 7, 2025
Interesting; but slow and messy most of the time. A historical fiction set during two timelines; a Congolese princess shamed and exiled by her family in 1950s Belgian occupied Congo and her niece in 2003; on the search for what happened to her missing aunt. The plot was interesting and I kept reading solely because I wanted to know what happened to her. The horrific colonialism the Congo suffered at the hands of the Belgians was an important theme of this novel; the history was shocking and important and I’m glad this book taught me more about that. Other than those two attributes, parts of this book were pretty bad. The writing was atrocious at times. I don’t understand why male authors feel the need to write about feminine sexuality; he did an absolutely horrible job and didn’t ask a woman to read this before he published it. Would not read it again
December 14, 2022
This book was interesting in that it showed how the Congo and other nations of Africa became settlements of many European countries. It was easy for those European countries to come in to a foreign land and take over. So much infighting between the different tribes made take over easy and quick. So many "natives" claiming to be the king of an area, and their peoples fighting amongst themselves, made an easy conquest for the invading Europeans. Rich for the picking they did just that. Gold, diamonds, native arts were all up for grabs and the people, not having a unified voice, lost hold of all of their own resources. It was eye opening from a historical point of view for me!
Thank you Simon & Shcuster for making this ARC available for me to read.
Thank you Simon & Shcuster for making this ARC available for me to read.
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