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Days Come and Go
Chronicling the beauty and turmoil of a rapidly changing Cameroon, Days Come and Go is the remarkable story of three generations of women both within and beyond its borders. Through the voices of Anna, a matriarch living out her final days in Paris; Abi, Anna’s thoroughly European daughter (at least in her mother’s eyes); and Tina, a teenager who comes under the sway of a militant terrorist faction, Boum’s epic is generous and all-seeing. Brilliantly considering the many issues that dominate her characters’ lives—love and politics, tradition and modernity—Days Come and Go, in Nchanji Njamnsi’s vivid translation, is a page-turner by way of Frantz Fanon and V. S. Naipaul. As passions rise, fall, and rise again, Boum's stirring English-language debut offers a discerning portrait of a nation that never once diminishes the power of everyday human connection.
350 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2019
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2672 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
August 22, 2022
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5. Hard topics (death and dying, unfaithfulness, corruption, religious extremists) are woven into this multi-generational saga, set primarily in sub-Saharan Africa.
Heartfelt thanks to @Netgalley and @Two_Lines_Press for the complimentary advance review copy. All thoughts are my own. Translated from French by Nchanju Njamnsi. Winner of the Prix Ahmadou Kourouma.
I picked this up for Women in Translation Month. Immediately, I was struck by Boum’s poetic and gentle writing (and credit, too, goes to Njamnsi’s translation). I started reading this while on an airplane, and the writing was so calming! We meet Anna, a Cameroonian woman dying of cancer, as she narrates her life story from her deathbed to her daughter, Abi, who sits by her side and records her. Anna’s story of growing up in Cameroon captivated me, and I would have happily stayed in that world for the whole novel. Interspersed, we hear directly from Abi about her life in France, her affair, and her failed marriage.
While I am used to alternating timelines, the structure here was a little too nonlinear for me, with location, time, and POV changing without warning. At the time, I chalked up my confusion to being on the aforementioned airplane (it can be hard to focus with the distractions), but looking back, I think that the chosen structure makes following the action unnecessarily tricky.
More than two thirds of the way through, the POV shifts to Tina, Anna’s goddaughter, as she describes past events in first-person to Abi’s son, Max. What was primarily a mother-daughter tale shifts quite dramatically into a story about three young people who are indoctrinated into Boko Haram, an Islamic terrorist organization. The shift took me by surprise and I felt as though I was suddenly reading a completely different book (I wonder, was the rapid shift intentional – to mirror the quickly changing landscape in Cameroon at the time?).
Worth a read, particularly if you are interested in learning more about Cameroon’s history and culture, but please do check the trigger warnings.
Heartfelt thanks to @Netgalley and @Two_Lines_Press for the complimentary advance review copy. All thoughts are my own. Translated from French by Nchanju Njamnsi. Winner of the Prix Ahmadou Kourouma.
I picked this up for Women in Translation Month. Immediately, I was struck by Boum’s poetic and gentle writing (and credit, too, goes to Njamnsi’s translation). I started reading this while on an airplane, and the writing was so calming! We meet Anna, a Cameroonian woman dying of cancer, as she narrates her life story from her deathbed to her daughter, Abi, who sits by her side and records her. Anna’s story of growing up in Cameroon captivated me, and I would have happily stayed in that world for the whole novel. Interspersed, we hear directly from Abi about her life in France, her affair, and her failed marriage.
While I am used to alternating timelines, the structure here was a little too nonlinear for me, with location, time, and POV changing without warning. At the time, I chalked up my confusion to being on the aforementioned airplane (it can be hard to focus with the distractions), but looking back, I think that the chosen structure makes following the action unnecessarily tricky.
More than two thirds of the way through, the POV shifts to Tina, Anna’s goddaughter, as she describes past events in first-person to Abi’s son, Max. What was primarily a mother-daughter tale shifts quite dramatically into a story about three young people who are indoctrinated into Boko Haram, an Islamic terrorist organization. The shift took me by surprise and I felt as though I was suddenly reading a completely different book (I wonder, was the rapid shift intentional – to mirror the quickly changing landscape in Cameroon at the time?).
Worth a read, particularly if you are interested in learning more about Cameroon’s history and culture, but please do check the trigger warnings.
February 9, 2021
Meer nog dan een verhaal over moeder en dochter is De dagen komen en gaan het verhaal van vier door het leven beschadigde pubers, die tekortschietende familiebanden hebben vervangen door een mooie vriendschap. Maar is deze vriendschap sterk genoeg om hen te beschermen tegen het geweld en extremisme dat overal om hen heen woedt?
Wat begint als een terugblik van een oude vrouw op haar sterfbed, wordt algauw een hartverscheurend verhaal over overleven. Hemley Boum heeft een ontroerende roman geschreven over familie en vriendschap, waarmee ze de lezer meeneemt naar Kameroen. Indrukwekkend.
Wat begint als een terugblik van een oude vrouw op haar sterfbed, wordt algauw een hartverscheurend verhaal over overleven. Hemley Boum heeft een ontroerende roman geschreven over familie en vriendschap, waarmee ze de lezer meeneemt naar Kameroen. Indrukwekkend.
March 15, 2023
Wow. 10/10
January 2, 2024
"The weariness of life sets in and takes root when we realize that we are the flesh that feeds a history we’ve had no hand in writing. Unable as we are to align our lives to the rhythm of the world. We are at the center of a heartbreaking tragedy, caught in the dark axes of the stars and we have no control over our bleak mornings."
Boum is only the second Cameroonian novelist I have read, the first being Léonora Miano whom I love. I have a soft spot for generational sagas so I was excited to read Days Come and Go. While I liked it for the most part, it did not land perfectly. Anna's life in colonised Cameroon is wonderfully realized and so is her complex relationship with her daughter, Abi. A terminal diagnosis for Anna becomes a catalyst for recall, sending her down a bittersweet memory lane. Boum's understated lyrical writing, the shifting perspectives, and the non-linear structure aid this evocative process.
The sudden pivot to the Boko Haram storyline in what had so far been a layered mother-daughter narrative was disorienting and strange. Although it is not far-fetched as the organisation operates in this region and indoctrination of young people is a sad reality, the texture of the novel changed. I think the story would have been better focusing on Abi's son, Max, than jumping to his childhood friends' involvement with Boko Haram. Until then the novel's strength had been the quiet moments of revelation and the pining after (melo)drama to increase emotional stakes certainly weakened it.
(I received a finished copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)
May 23, 2022
The description of this book is accurate, yet somehow feels very different. Most information is told through the characters’ thoughts. There is little dialogue or action. I haven’t read many ARCs, so wasn’t sure what to expect. There was little formatting (no chapters or identification of sections by character or location). It took time to determine these changes while reading. Over halfway into the ebook, things did pick up and my attention peaked. I enjoyed learning about Cameroon (history, culture, etc).
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
June 11, 2022
I was gifted a galley of this title by the good folks at Two Lines Press.
Days Come & Go is the first work by Boum I have read, and I was impressed by the way she is able to intricately weave the most personal of stories—the traumas, betrayals, and love that bind families, both blood and chosen—within the larger apocalypses that affect nations. It’s a novel that feels both intimate and sweeping, and it certainly exposed my own historical ignorances. I enjoy books that encourage me to further educate myself, and this one certainly fits the bill in that regard.
Thematically, it reminded me a bit of Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half, particularly in the last third of the novel, which focuses on the youngest generation, and is the swiftest-moving of the sections. I struggled initially with the pacing and the structural choices in the first half of the novel, but do appreciate the ouroboros nature of the ending.
Days Come & Go is the first work by Boum I have read, and I was impressed by the way she is able to intricately weave the most personal of stories—the traumas, betrayals, and love that bind families, both blood and chosen—within the larger apocalypses that affect nations. It’s a novel that feels both intimate and sweeping, and it certainly exposed my own historical ignorances. I enjoy books that encourage me to further educate myself, and this one certainly fits the bill in that regard.
Thematically, it reminded me a bit of Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half, particularly in the last third of the novel, which focuses on the youngest generation, and is the swiftest-moving of the sections. I struggled initially with the pacing and the structural choices in the first half of the novel, but do appreciate the ouroboros nature of the ending.
May 20, 2021
Ce livre est magnifique. C’est un roman, mais c’est aussi tellement plus que cela. C’est un plongeon dans le passé, dans l’histoire du Cameroun des années 50-70. Un voyage à la découverte des paysages et cultures Camerounais. Une description sans fard des quotidiens de vie de plusieurs d’entre nous...
Il m’a fait rire, il m’a fait rêver et contre toute attente, il m’a fait pleurer.
Hemley Boum a une plume presque impeccable. J’en suis encore toute émoustillée.
Il m’a fait rire, il m’a fait rêver et contre toute attente, il m’a fait pleurer.
Hemley Boum a une plume presque impeccable. J’en suis encore toute émoustillée.
March 27, 2023
Days come and go in Hemley Boum's novel. The passage of time is a witness to the life of the three women at the center of this narrative: Anna, Abi, and Tina. Between memories and the present, their lives unfold framed by this ever-flowing time.
•
Anna now close to the end bring us back to the Cameroon of her youth, a Cameroon that will soon know independence but not a full one. It is a way of life, a culture that colonialism slowly eroded to leave its own imprint on the population, and that forces people like Anna to change and assimilate in order to hope for a better life. Whereas Anna was our door to the past, Tina opened a door to contemporary Cameroon and the blight of Boko Haram.
•
Days Come and Go, beautifully translated by Nchanji Njamnsi is a story of resilience and survival, a story about motherhood, and an ode to chosen families. What you would love the most about this book is the care that Hemley put into creating fully fleshed complex characters.
•
"The weariness of life sets in and takes root when we realize that we are the flesh that feeds a history we’ve had no hand in writing. Unable as we are to align our lives to the rhythm of the world. We are at the center of a heartbreaking tragedy, caught in the dark axes of the stars and we have no control over our bleak mornings."
•
"Treat her kindly. I know you see helpless, terminally ill beings every day. I understand the need to keep their suffering at a safe distance, but you must understand: to me, this woman is much more than just a failing body, Abi pleaded silently. She is a loved one, a precious life ebbing away in silence."
•
I voluntarily read and reviewed a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
•
Anna now close to the end bring us back to the Cameroon of her youth, a Cameroon that will soon know independence but not a full one. It is a way of life, a culture that colonialism slowly eroded to leave its own imprint on the population, and that forces people like Anna to change and assimilate in order to hope for a better life. Whereas Anna was our door to the past, Tina opened a door to contemporary Cameroon and the blight of Boko Haram.
•
Days Come and Go, beautifully translated by Nchanji Njamnsi is a story of resilience and survival, a story about motherhood, and an ode to chosen families. What you would love the most about this book is the care that Hemley put into creating fully fleshed complex characters.
•
"The weariness of life sets in and takes root when we realize that we are the flesh that feeds a history we’ve had no hand in writing. Unable as we are to align our lives to the rhythm of the world. We are at the center of a heartbreaking tragedy, caught in the dark axes of the stars and we have no control over our bleak mornings."
•
"Treat her kindly. I know you see helpless, terminally ill beings every day. I understand the need to keep their suffering at a safe distance, but you must understand: to me, this woman is much more than just a failing body, Abi pleaded silently. She is a loved one, a precious life ebbing away in silence."
•
I voluntarily read and reviewed a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
August 16, 2025
Je suis tout simplement impressionnée par ce que j’ai lu. J’avais pris au hasard ce livre dans un bureau de tabac et je peux dire qu’il en devient mon coup de coeur de l’année ! C’est la première fois que je lis de la littérature africaine et ce ne sera pas la dernière fois : tout m’a intéressé pendant la lecture. J’ai été passionnée par ce que je lisais : frayeur, tristesse, éclat de rire par moment, colère… toutes les émotions possibles sont ressorties en moi. Ce livre m’a appris à voir certaines choses d’une autre façon et surtout de voir comment les personnes du Cameroun vivent et leur mode de vie, qui je trouve, est super enrichissant pour comprendre les personnages mais aussi pour comprendre la culture Camerounaise. Hemley Boum a une plume sublime, super facile à lire et le choix des mots est tout simplement un régal.
July 19, 2025
wow, quelle claque. j'ai pris ce livre un peu au hasard pendant mes vacances et je l'ai lu en quelques jours.
Une histoire qui mêle le Cameroun et la France, des femmes protagonistes qui racontent leur histoire à travers plusieurs générations. La guerre, l'amour malgré tout, les années 50-60 au Cameroun et l'horreur des camps de Boko Haram, des familles brisées qui peine à se reconstruire. La plume d'Hemley Boum est puissante et nous plonge dans l'histoire sans difficultés.
Une histoire qui mêle le Cameroun et la France, des femmes protagonistes qui racontent leur histoire à travers plusieurs générations. La guerre, l'amour malgré tout, les années 50-60 au Cameroun et l'horreur des camps de Boko Haram, des familles brisées qui peine à se reconstruire. La plume d'Hemley Boum est puissante et nous plonge dans l'histoire sans difficultés.
January 14, 2023
As a translated book, the writing here is so beautiful and thoughtful. The shifting perspectives bring interest to the story and provide a wider picture of the history and culture of Cameroon. This is a book I hope to encounter in physical form, because the non-linear structure of the narrative made it hard to follow in egalley format, without the ability to go back and forth between sections as easily. Boum spares no detail about the violent realities of many, which may be a trigger warning for some, but the underlying alone of the connection between money and daughter—the tenous connection to life, is worth giving this book a try.
May 14, 2022
The description sounds fascinating - who doesn't love a multi-generational novel?
Turns out, I didn't.
This book, told from multiple POVs and multi timelines, was mainly told through description.
A lot of the narrative is in the head of the characters, especially Anna.
Since the premise was really interesting I might pick this up again.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Turns out, I didn't.
This book, told from multiple POVs and multi timelines, was mainly told through description.
A lot of the narrative is in the head of the characters, especially Anna.
Since the premise was really interesting I might pick this up again.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
January 1, 2023
A story of three generations of Cameroonians, I enjoyed the writing and imagery. The last part of the book was difficult to read but it was really well done.
September 8, 2025
I had come across this book as it was one of the bookclub picks for the indulgent bibliophile. I had also started it during women in translation month.
I had read the blurb and I expected most of the book to explore a complex mother daughter relationship. This was what going on in the first half.
The second half felt like a completely different book. In as much as much as Tina was part of the whole communal family it still felt like a different book.
I think the second part shined more for me because I had very limited knowledge of boko haram. I know they are a terrorist organisation. The depth of their depravity was chilling. Tina’s account was so harrowing. I enjoyed the community and the friendship group of the four teenagers.
With that being said, the first part didn’t really do much for me. Like I was incredibly sad that Anna was dying and Abi dealing with it but it did not do anything for me. Abi’s infidelity and Anna’s growing up and meeting that wretched fellow Louis… 😬
Earlier this year, I had read fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis which shed light on the plight of Isis brides. Both these books have reiterated how dangerous religious fanatics are.
I wish the first part and second part was a bit more seamless.
It would have been a 5 star but that disconnect 🥴
But I’m glad I read this book. I think Nchanji Njamnsi did an absolutely fantastic job translating this book. I know he would have had to go off of Hemley Boum’s writing. Sometimes, I find with translated fiction, that there’s often a disconnect but not with this one.
I had read the blurb and I expected most of the book to explore a complex mother daughter relationship. This was what going on in the first half.
The second half felt like a completely different book. In as much as much as Tina was part of the whole communal family it still felt like a different book.
I think the second part shined more for me because I had very limited knowledge of boko haram. I know they are a terrorist organisation. The depth of their depravity was chilling. Tina’s account was so harrowing. I enjoyed the community and the friendship group of the four teenagers.
With that being said, the first part didn’t really do much for me. Like I was incredibly sad that Anna was dying and Abi dealing with it but it did not do anything for me. Abi’s infidelity and Anna’s growing up and meeting that wretched fellow Louis… 😬
Earlier this year, I had read fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis which shed light on the plight of Isis brides. Both these books have reiterated how dangerous religious fanatics are.
I wish the first part and second part was a bit more seamless.
It would have been a 5 star but that disconnect 🥴
But I’m glad I read this book. I think Nchanji Njamnsi did an absolutely fantastic job translating this book. I know he would have had to go off of Hemley Boum’s writing. Sometimes, I find with translated fiction, that there’s often a disconnect but not with this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 20, 2024
Around-the-world #188: Cameroon 🇨🇲.
Three generations of women withstand life's events in Cameroon and France. The first half of this novel covers events that are common to many cultures: marriage problems, children problems, infidelity, name it. The second half becomes far more intense when the youngest generation gets involved with Boko Haram. This is no doubt the best French-African book I have read. Its language adapts to the perspective chosen (and is therefore not always easy to go through for non-native French readers). The various perspectives on the culture of Cameroon are detailed and interesting. Overall it is a masterpiece that makes me want to read more by this author.
Three generations of women withstand life's events in Cameroon and France. The first half of this novel covers events that are common to many cultures: marriage problems, children problems, infidelity, name it. The second half becomes far more intense when the youngest generation gets involved with Boko Haram. This is no doubt the best French-African book I have read. Its language adapts to the perspective chosen (and is therefore not always easy to go through for non-native French readers). The various perspectives on the culture of Cameroon are detailed and interesting. Overall it is a masterpiece that makes me want to read more by this author.
July 23, 2025
Un livre bien écrit et bien rythmé. on y trouve des récits croisés entre trois générations de femmes, grand-mère, mère et fille adoptive, et entre la France et le Cameroun.
J'ai aimé l'étude des liens touchants et complexes au sein des couples et entre enfants et parents. Le regard des ancien.ne.s colonisé.e.s vis à vis des colons est bien exploré dans toute son ambiguïté.
la dernière partie du livre sur Boko Haram est difficile (peut-être qu'au bout de 4 bouquins d'affilée avec des violences faites aux femmes, je commence à saturer).
J'ai aimé l'étude des liens touchants et complexes au sein des couples et entre enfants et parents. Le regard des ancien.ne.s colonisé.e.s vis à vis des colons est bien exploré dans toute son ambiguïté.
la dernière partie du livre sur Boko Haram est difficile (peut-être qu'au bout de 4 bouquins d'affilée avec des violences faites aux femmes, je commence à saturer).
December 22, 2024
Un livre dont on ne s’en remet pas .
July 16, 2024
De verhaallijnen waren interessant, maar liepen te hard door elkaar. Ik had niet het gevoel een personage echt te kennen en dat viel me tegen :((
February 11, 2021
Ayant lu et aimé Les Maquisards il y a un certain temps, j’ai été vraiment curieuse de découvrir ce nouveau roman de Hemley Boum.
Je ne sais pas comment je me suis fait l’idée qu’il ne s’agissait qu’un roman de différentes générations de femmes entre le Cameroun et la France... Et rien que cela m’aurait plu et certainement fasciné. Les relations entre Anna et Abi, entre Anna et Awaya, et ce personnage de Samgali qui jette une ombre constante sur toute l’histoire auraient pu remplir un livre toutes seules. Mais cette histoire est tellement plus que cela !
Par les voix de différentes femmes le lecteur apprend en fait un peu de l’histoire du Cameroun, des conditions de vie des femmes depuis les années 50, des évolutions politiques et sociales dans ce pays. Il y a Anna qui nous raconte surtout le côté camerounais de l’histoire, il y a Abi, sa fille, qui nous raconte surtout la vie d’une femme africaine libre en France, et l’histoire de Max, le fils d’Abi, qui réunit par son vécu les fils de l’histoire.
Rien que cela est intéressant, bien que j’avoue qu’il y avait des moments où je commençais à avoir le sentiment que j’en avais lu assez des histoires amoureuses hors mariages d’un mari au Cameroun d’un côté et d’une femme en France de l’autre.
Mais bien vite le lecteur comprend que tout cela n’est que la piste qui nous amène à l’histoire que Hemley Boum voulait vraiment raconteur, celle de Tina, de Jenny, d’Ismaël et du Boko Haram. Cette partie du livre m’a coupé le souffle, m’a fait crier à l’intérieur pour l’horreur vécue de ces jeunes, m’a fait pleurer pour ce qui leur arrive.
Et c’est vrai que cette partie n’aurait pas eu cet effet sans la présentation soigneuse des caractères et du contexte de leurs histoires et destins.
Une partie touchante entre déclaration d’amour pour ce pays et une accusation pour des fautes graves dans sa politique termine ce livre et le lecteur peut comprendre que Hemley Boum a entrepris une mission d’une importance personnelle en écrivant cette histoire.
Je ne sais pas comment je me suis fait l’idée qu’il ne s’agissait qu’un roman de différentes générations de femmes entre le Cameroun et la France... Et rien que cela m’aurait plu et certainement fasciné. Les relations entre Anna et Abi, entre Anna et Awaya, et ce personnage de Samgali qui jette une ombre constante sur toute l’histoire auraient pu remplir un livre toutes seules. Mais cette histoire est tellement plus que cela !
Par les voix de différentes femmes le lecteur apprend en fait un peu de l’histoire du Cameroun, des conditions de vie des femmes depuis les années 50, des évolutions politiques et sociales dans ce pays. Il y a Anna qui nous raconte surtout le côté camerounais de l’histoire, il y a Abi, sa fille, qui nous raconte surtout la vie d’une femme africaine libre en France, et l’histoire de Max, le fils d’Abi, qui réunit par son vécu les fils de l’histoire.
Rien que cela est intéressant, bien que j’avoue qu’il y avait des moments où je commençais à avoir le sentiment que j’en avais lu assez des histoires amoureuses hors mariages d’un mari au Cameroun d’un côté et d’une femme en France de l’autre.
Mais bien vite le lecteur comprend que tout cela n’est que la piste qui nous amène à l’histoire que Hemley Boum voulait vraiment raconteur, celle de Tina, de Jenny, d’Ismaël et du Boko Haram. Cette partie du livre m’a coupé le souffle, m’a fait crier à l’intérieur pour l’horreur vécue de ces jeunes, m’a fait pleurer pour ce qui leur arrive.
Et c’est vrai que cette partie n’aurait pas eu cet effet sans la présentation soigneuse des caractères et du contexte de leurs histoires et destins.
Une partie touchante entre déclaration d’amour pour ce pays et une accusation pour des fautes graves dans sa politique termine ce livre et le lecteur peut comprendre que Hemley Boum a entrepris une mission d’une importance personnelle en écrivant cette histoire.
March 12, 2022
Anna liegt im Sterben. Im Pariser Hospiz reflektiert sie ihr Leben: sie berichtet vom Kolonialismus in ihrer Heimat Kamerun und einem Fluch, der scheinbar auf ihrer Familie liegt, dem sie mit der Hilfe einer Missionarin entkommen möchte. Ihre Tochter ist im Hospiz an ihrer Seite, hat sie bis zum Schluss gepflegt. Was sich zunächst wie ein Familienepos las, verlor im zweiten Teil an Stringenz. Erst berichtet noch der Enkel, die dritte Generation der Familie, dann wechselt es zu den Erzählungen Tinas, einer seiner kamerunischen Freundinnen, und ihrem Weg zur Terrorgruppe Boko Haram. Mir fehlte eine klarerer Leitlinie oder ein Rahmen in der Erzählung. Das Buch hätte so viel gewonnen. Auch sprachlich fand ich den Wechsel zwischen den 3 Generationen nicht gelungen. Die Teenagerin sprach genau so wie die Großmutter, mit ein zwei Jugendworten.
May 16, 2021
Een meeslepend geschreven verhaal. Zeer indrukwekkend.
November 29, 2024
3.5 ☆
Pourquoi pas, non vraiment pourquoi pas (Tina supremacy >>>)
Pourquoi pas, non vraiment pourquoi pas (Tina supremacy >>>)
August 29, 2025
Magnifique 🙏
January 30, 2024
“A woman's body is much more demanding than her heart. Have I said this before? It has only one life and never forgets that. It keeps an account of blows like it does the memory of kisses, the wounds we inflict on ourselves and those that life deals us. It does not heal, is not restored, but forges ahead with great haste — nothing matters but the past and present; it is unconcerned with the future. Hence, it cannot accommodate any form of hypocrisy: the body scoffs at our gimmicks, unceremoniously dismisses our dalliances, the petty deals we strike with ourselves. It does not entertain excuses and irrevocably punishes lies that the heart condones.” — Hemley Boum, “Days Come and Go”
Three women are at the centre of this story. They are Anna, who is living out her final days in Paris; Abi, her daughter; and Tina, a teenager who comes under the sway of a militant terrorist faction. These three women experience their country, Cameroon, in very different ways. Through their eyes, we are able to understand colonialism’s impact on African society. The breadth of the novel is epic, tackling love and loss, politics and patriarchy, transition and modernity, religion and history. There is so much to unpack!
Anna is raised in a time when modernity and Christianity are being used to silence black people, and she, like all children of that time, even comes to love her coloniser, because they come with shiny things and trinkets and pretend to offer a better way of life, but, are in fact, there to colonise and wipe out a way of life that has been followed for centuries. She will realise only later, when she tries to find her way back to herself, that she was a victim of white supremacy.
In one incident, Anna’s teacher decides to pull out her tooth herself — without her guardian’s permission — without numbing the area first and without telling Anna what she was about to do. She then offers her tablets for the pain, but those painkillers don’t work. Anna eventually goes home, where her enraged guardian tends to her and gives her a mixture of herbs she created herself. It’s this mixture — a traditional remedy that the likes of the nuns and priests see as primitive — that manages to cure Anna’s ailment. It’s a scene that synthesises the story of colonialism well: it is a tale of white people thinking they know better, violating our bodily and other autonomy, and then offering ineffective solutions for the problems they caused — all because they think they know better.
Anna muses, “So I lived in their midst, always on the fringes, insignificant, and they spoke freely in my presence.
I saw how little regard they had for us, how much they held us in low esteem. They did not know us, and were not really interested in knowing us either. By virtue of their faith, their mission, and their biases, they did not have to: they knew better than us, both what we needed and how we should live.”
She is aware that without them she would not have had access to “the unparalleled work they did in education and healthcare”. But these things came at the cost of her dignity and that of her community. It also came at the cost of their way of life:
“Yet, their mission required locals to forfeit ancestral practices, including our indigenous languages, which we were forbidden from using in their presence. The essence of our being in the world, its core tenet, ingrained in us across generations, was being violently questioned. Their work demanded allegiance, utter surrender, from us.
I did not realise this then, but these demands threw us off balance, divided us, made us doubt ourselves and weakened us. They birthed a cruel conflict in us, putting our loyalty to the test. We were inhabited by this childish and conflicting desire to please and resist them all at the same time.”
Her daughter Abi grows to be as strong-willed as her mother, and the book does a good job of following her life and how her family’s history seeps into it. In many ways, the story of Anna is the story of Cameroon. The story of Abi is the story of modernity and tradition. And the story of Tina is the story of religion, patriarchy, and self-determination.
The parts of the book that’ll make you cry the most are the ones where we follow Tina’s story. When Tina is kidnapped, things get pretty nasty. I appreciate the care with which Boum tells the story. It isn’t simply a story of how some people are bad and others are not; rather she goes into the “why” of how extremists are made, and also gives voice to the destruction they leave in their wake.
This was a translation from the French, and a good one I think. I say that not because I know French but because the story itself is still well-rounded and engaging even though it is a translation. If there was anything lost in translation, it didn’t hinder the telling of the story. There were quite a bit of typos and grammar errors in the text, though. Despite that, I think this is an important story and a must-read!
Three women are at the centre of this story. They are Anna, who is living out her final days in Paris; Abi, her daughter; and Tina, a teenager who comes under the sway of a militant terrorist faction. These three women experience their country, Cameroon, in very different ways. Through their eyes, we are able to understand colonialism’s impact on African society. The breadth of the novel is epic, tackling love and loss, politics and patriarchy, transition and modernity, religion and history. There is so much to unpack!
Anna is raised in a time when modernity and Christianity are being used to silence black people, and she, like all children of that time, even comes to love her coloniser, because they come with shiny things and trinkets and pretend to offer a better way of life, but, are in fact, there to colonise and wipe out a way of life that has been followed for centuries. She will realise only later, when she tries to find her way back to herself, that she was a victim of white supremacy.
In one incident, Anna’s teacher decides to pull out her tooth herself — without her guardian’s permission — without numbing the area first and without telling Anna what she was about to do. She then offers her tablets for the pain, but those painkillers don’t work. Anna eventually goes home, where her enraged guardian tends to her and gives her a mixture of herbs she created herself. It’s this mixture — a traditional remedy that the likes of the nuns and priests see as primitive — that manages to cure Anna’s ailment. It’s a scene that synthesises the story of colonialism well: it is a tale of white people thinking they know better, violating our bodily and other autonomy, and then offering ineffective solutions for the problems they caused — all because they think they know better.
Anna muses, “So I lived in their midst, always on the fringes, insignificant, and they spoke freely in my presence.
I saw how little regard they had for us, how much they held us in low esteem. They did not know us, and were not really interested in knowing us either. By virtue of their faith, their mission, and their biases, they did not have to: they knew better than us, both what we needed and how we should live.”
She is aware that without them she would not have had access to “the unparalleled work they did in education and healthcare”. But these things came at the cost of her dignity and that of her community. It also came at the cost of their way of life:
“Yet, their mission required locals to forfeit ancestral practices, including our indigenous languages, which we were forbidden from using in their presence. The essence of our being in the world, its core tenet, ingrained in us across generations, was being violently questioned. Their work demanded allegiance, utter surrender, from us.
I did not realise this then, but these demands threw us off balance, divided us, made us doubt ourselves and weakened us. They birthed a cruel conflict in us, putting our loyalty to the test. We were inhabited by this childish and conflicting desire to please and resist them all at the same time.”
Her daughter Abi grows to be as strong-willed as her mother, and the book does a good job of following her life and how her family’s history seeps into it. In many ways, the story of Anna is the story of Cameroon. The story of Abi is the story of modernity and tradition. And the story of Tina is the story of religion, patriarchy, and self-determination.
The parts of the book that’ll make you cry the most are the ones where we follow Tina’s story. When Tina is kidnapped, things get pretty nasty. I appreciate the care with which Boum tells the story. It isn’t simply a story of how some people are bad and others are not; rather she goes into the “why” of how extremists are made, and also gives voice to the destruction they leave in their wake.
This was a translation from the French, and a good one I think. I say that not because I know French but because the story itself is still well-rounded and engaging even though it is a translation. If there was anything lost in translation, it didn’t hinder the telling of the story. There were quite a bit of typos and grammar errors in the text, though. Despite that, I think this is an important story and a must-read!
August 27, 2025
"In places the West considers to be the center of the world, every death is worth a little more. Every grief is amplified tenfold. The entire universe comes to a standstill and covers itself in ashes as a sign of desolation. I watched, alarmed, this discriminatory attention to misfortune. This unequal commiseration, bereft of solidarity. I pointed this out without the energy to feel acrimonious about it."
Books like this are why Literature in Translation (if that can be considered a genre) is quickly becoming the area I spend the majority of my reading time in. Through the power of fiction you can be transported across the world and you can find yourself seeing the world through the eyes of somebody else. You can read the news and be well informed of the world, but for me fiction provides a way to make it more personal. It makes it easier to be an empathetic person.
Days Come and Go tells the story of three generations of a family from Cameroon. It touches on so many topics that are very difficult to resolve, and that many of us in the West can't even fully comprehend. As with most things in life, the solution is never black and white and how people choose to come to terms with them often has repercussions that are felt in the following generations.
Topics discussed include post-colonialism, corruption, religious extremism, the incompatibility of western and traditional beliefs, feminism, polygamy, and cultural trauma. The author does a fantastic job of showing how all of these topics aren't black and white, how they are all interconnected, and how one generations solutions to their issues causes a whole new set of issues for the next generation.
I don't think its a book for everyone. I think you have to be interested and have a little understanding of the region to fully comprehend what the book is trying to say. In a lot of ways it feels almost like historical fiction. Actual groups like Boko Haram (an Islamic extremist group), events like the terror attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris, and political groups and people are an important part of the story. If you're willing to read a few Wikipedia articles I think you will have more than enough information to enjoy the story, you don't have to be a history/world affairs aficionado to understand what's going on.
Definitely consider giving it a read if you're interested in expanding your worldview. It's well written and it deserves a lot more attention than the 342 ratings (on Goodreads) it has at my time of writing this.
"Take a deep breath. Take the time you need. No need to rush. Days come and go. If you are strong and courageous, if you give it time, life will show you how to love yourself. How to love it."
January 29, 2024
Anna, admise en soins palliatifs dans un hôpital parisien, se remémore son enfance et sa jeunesse dans la campagne camourenaise. A ses côtés, Abi, sa fille, prise entre le désir d'accompagner sa mère et de profiter de ses souvenirs jusqu'au bout et sa propre histoire amoureuse et familiale. Ces deux voix alternent dans la majeure partie du roman, convoquant d'autres personnages clés de leurs vies : la vieille Awaya qui a élevé Anna et , en l'inscrivant à l'école, a fait d'elle une femme instruite qui a pris son avenir en mains. le mari d'Anna, Louis, qui permet à l'auteure d'évoquer la société camerounaise au lendemain de l'indépendance, ses désillusions et les débuts de la corruption politique et économique dans le pays. Enfin Max, le fils d'Abi, qui introduit la troisième génération et donne la parole à Tina, dernière voix féminine du récit , une toute jeune fille rescapée des camps des djihadistes de Boko Haram.
Un roman choral, donc, confrontant les destinées de ces trois générations de femmes sur fonds d'histoire du Cameroun, de la période coloniale aux brutalités de la guerre d'indépendance et jusqu'à la sauvagerie de Boko Haram au Nord du pays : l'attentat perpétré au marché de Kolofata raconté dans le livre a bien eu lieu en Janvier 2015 faisant 150 morts.
Un roman qui donne la part belle aux femmes et qui, au delà de la fiction, nous offre l'histoire d'un pays , le Cameroun, sur lequel personnellement je ne savais pas grand chose. La dernière partie du livre , avec le témoignage de Tina , par son côté plus « documentaire » casse un peu le rythme du roman mais il est, hélas, très instructif ! C'est très bien écrit, d'une écriture sobre , émaillée de certains mots et expressions locales qui nous plongent avec bonheur au coeur du Cameroun.
C'est le 5e roman d'Hemley Boum, romancière francophone camerounaise que je ne connaissais pas et c'est une belle découverte pour moi.
Un roman choral, donc, confrontant les destinées de ces trois générations de femmes sur fonds d'histoire du Cameroun, de la période coloniale aux brutalités de la guerre d'indépendance et jusqu'à la sauvagerie de Boko Haram au Nord du pays : l'attentat perpétré au marché de Kolofata raconté dans le livre a bien eu lieu en Janvier 2015 faisant 150 morts.
Un roman qui donne la part belle aux femmes et qui, au delà de la fiction, nous offre l'histoire d'un pays , le Cameroun, sur lequel personnellement je ne savais pas grand chose. La dernière partie du livre , avec le témoignage de Tina , par son côté plus « documentaire » casse un peu le rythme du roman mais il est, hélas, très instructif ! C'est très bien écrit, d'une écriture sobre , émaillée de certains mots et expressions locales qui nous plongent avec bonheur au coeur du Cameroun.
C'est le 5e roman d'Hemley Boum, romancière francophone camerounaise que je ne connaissais pas et c'est une belle découverte pour moi.
August 24, 2022
I was provided a free advanced reader copy of this from @netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
This story follows three generations of Cameroonian women through their struggles, triumphs, heartaches, hardships, relationships, and survival! We meet Anna on her deathbed reciting her life story to her daughter, Abi. She grew up in a rural village but was able to escape when given the opportunity to study at a school in a bigger city. Abi, grew up in that bigger city before going to Europe and settling down with her husband and son. Then we see Tina, who is friends with Abi's son back in Cameroon, and her struggle for identity and relationships.
There is a lot in this novel. The struggles of poverty, politics, relationships of many kinds, identity, and the horrors of terrorist extremists. There are parts that were difficult to hear about, but knowing they are the harsh realities of many people in our world it was worth learning about.
The formatting of this book was difficult at times to read, for one because there were no chapters! Understanding that the formatting of ARCs are sometimes off, I suspect that this isn't just because it was an ARC. With four narrators (Abi's son gets a small amount too), and multiple time jumps it was difficult to catch the changes sometimes without chapters and my copy didn't even always have large breaks between paragraphs to indicate changes.
Overall it was a good book, and I learned a lot. This is the first book by Hemley Boum that has been translated into English, by Nchanji Njamnsi. The writing style was very lyrical and I was able to feel a lot of the feelings of the characters. That's a testament to both the author and translator!
This translation is expected to be published 6 Sep, so add it to your TBR and keep an eye out!
#NetGalley #DaysComeAndGo
This story follows three generations of Cameroonian women through their struggles, triumphs, heartaches, hardships, relationships, and survival! We meet Anna on her deathbed reciting her life story to her daughter, Abi. She grew up in a rural village but was able to escape when given the opportunity to study at a school in a bigger city. Abi, grew up in that bigger city before going to Europe and settling down with her husband and son. Then we see Tina, who is friends with Abi's son back in Cameroon, and her struggle for identity and relationships.
There is a lot in this novel. The struggles of poverty, politics, relationships of many kinds, identity, and the horrors of terrorist extremists. There are parts that were difficult to hear about, but knowing they are the harsh realities of many people in our world it was worth learning about.
The formatting of this book was difficult at times to read, for one because there were no chapters! Understanding that the formatting of ARCs are sometimes off, I suspect that this isn't just because it was an ARC. With four narrators (Abi's son gets a small amount too), and multiple time jumps it was difficult to catch the changes sometimes without chapters and my copy didn't even always have large breaks between paragraphs to indicate changes.
Overall it was a good book, and I learned a lot. This is the first book by Hemley Boum that has been translated into English, by Nchanji Njamnsi. The writing style was very lyrical and I was able to feel a lot of the feelings of the characters. That's a testament to both the author and translator!
This translation is expected to be published 6 Sep, so add it to your TBR and keep an eye out!
#NetGalley #DaysComeAndGo
January 16, 2023
There are three main characters in the book who we follow-Anna, her daughter Abi, and her son's friend Tina. Each of their storylines had a distinct flavor. Anna's reminded me of Tambu's in Nervous Conditions (by Tsitsi Dangarembga); both Anna and Tambu come of age under colonial occupation, and are distinctly impacted by colonial, missionary education. They are both enchanted and harmed by these systems, and come to see their home communities differently as a result of being away/boarded in these schools. Abi's story, unlike Anna's, which is centered in Cameroon, mainly takes place in France. The focus of Abi's plot line is her affair and the subsequent fallout from it. Here, I was reminded of Leïla Slimani's Adèle. Both Adèle and Abi are 'modern,' discontent women living in Paris, whose main forms of resistance to violent capitalist patriarchy are the pursuit of illicit sex. Finally, there is Tina, whose story was the most jarring and unexpected. Tina's story reminded me of The Beekeeper, by Dunya Mikhail. Both that book and Tina's plot center on women brainwashed/tricked/forced into becoming a part of an extremist Islamic group (Da'esh and Boko Haram, respectively). I was puzzled that Tina's story was included. It seemed a bit sensationalistic, a little too ripped-from-the-gratuitious-violence-Islamophobic headline-y. It makes me ask myself: is each woman's story supposed to represent a 'phase' in Cameroonian history? Or does each woman stand in for a certain 'type' of person in Cameroon today (elderly people who directly experienced colonialism, those who have migrated to the West, and those who are caught up in extremist violence)? Or is this really a story of three individuals, who do not represent any larger group? Why think about characters as standing in for (parts of) nations at all?
June 2, 2022
Days Come and Go by Hemley Boum tells the story of Anna and her daughter Abi and takes places in both Cameroon and France. When the story begins, we meet Anna in her village in Cameroon. We follow her through school and the arrival of her daughter. Abi's story is interspersed in Anna's story. We also follow Max, Abi's son, during one of his visits to Cameroon.
The family saga portion of the novel is compelling and keeps interest. Boum engages the reader with life in Cameroon without hitting them over the head with it. The parts in Paris with Abi and her family felt a little jumpy at first but, eventually, the storyline plays out and we understand why it is told.
A major issue with the book, however, is how the political piece comes out of nowhere and goes on. While I appreciate politics and history and social change in a story, in fact, I often find those pieces more interesting than the story, Boum smacks us in the face with some awful parts of East African life, notably Boko Harum. The existence of Boko Harum is deplorable and their actions are beyond horrible. And we should not ignore its existence or its actions. But, the way this groups was integrated into the story was forced. We heard nothing about extremists throughout the entire novel and then towards the end, BAM!, Boko Harum and rape and kidnapping and suicide bombers. It just felt forced. It felt like Boum wanted the world to know about the atrocities (which the world should) but couldn't figure out how to organically include it in the story. So another storyline was written.
I loved learning about Cameroon. I only wish the story had stayed focused on Anna and her family.
Thank you to #NetGalley for an ARC of #DaysComeAndGo.
The family saga portion of the novel is compelling and keeps interest. Boum engages the reader with life in Cameroon without hitting them over the head with it. The parts in Paris with Abi and her family felt a little jumpy at first but, eventually, the storyline plays out and we understand why it is told.
A major issue with the book, however, is how the political piece comes out of nowhere and goes on. While I appreciate politics and history and social change in a story, in fact, I often find those pieces more interesting than the story, Boum smacks us in the face with some awful parts of East African life, notably Boko Harum. The existence of Boko Harum is deplorable and their actions are beyond horrible. And we should not ignore its existence or its actions. But, the way this groups was integrated into the story was forced. We heard nothing about extremists throughout the entire novel and then towards the end, BAM!, Boko Harum and rape and kidnapping and suicide bombers. It just felt forced. It felt like Boum wanted the world to know about the atrocities (which the world should) but couldn't figure out how to organically include it in the story. So another storyline was written.
I loved learning about Cameroon. I only wish the story had stayed focused on Anna and her family.
Thank you to #NetGalley for an ARC of #DaysComeAndGo.
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