I Was an Elephant Salesman: Adventures between Dakar, Paris, and Milan

by Pap Khouma, Rebecca Hopkins (Translator), Graziella Parati (Foreword)

A landmark bestseller in Italy, I Was an Elephant Salesman gives a name and a face to the thousands of anonymous African street vendors in cities across Europe. Through the voice of a thinly veiled first-person narrator, Pap Khouma offers us a chilling, intimate, and often ironic glimpse into the life of an illegal immigrant. Khouma invents a life for himself as an itinerant trader of carved elephants, small ivories, and other "African" trinkets, struggling to maintain courage and dignity in the face of despair and humiliation. Constantly on the run from the authorities, he finds insight into the vicissitudes of law and politics, the constraints of citizenship, national borders, skin color, and the often paralyzing difficulties of obtaining basic human needs. His story reveals a contemporary Europe struggling to come to terms with its multiracial, multireligious, and multicultural identity.

Genres: Memoir, Africa

158 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Amanda Maytin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story was definitely impactful and straightforward to show the direct truths of immigration in Italy and the realities they would face. What really blows my mind is how these "laws" are in place to be of more assistance and the conditions don't improve at all, possibly even worsening for this community. I wouldn't have picked this up on my own if it weren't for my professor BUT I'm still glad (yet pained) to have read the story.

[Adele Oriana Oriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interessante romanzo che racconta una delle tante vite arrivate in Italia con la speranza di migliorare il proprio status. L'ho trovato emotivamente impegnativo, tra le pagine si legge tutta la sofferenza e il dolore che il protagonista ha vissuto sulle sue spalle.

[Lena · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story from a perspective I have never read before. It shades light on the role of (illegal) immigrants in Italy in the 1980s and today. I really liked the narrator’s voice and the insight. Yet, a lot of scenes feel repetitive as they try to convey the frustrating reality of hiding and running from the authorities. Very straightforward, understandable style, also suitable for non-native speakers. Read it in a few hours.

3.5 🌟

[Daniel Polansky]

A loosely fictionalized account of the author's experiences as a seller of trinkets in Italy during the mid and late 1980s, before the explosion of immigration from Africa. Engaging and touching, its depiction of the hazards of life as an undocumented immigrant felt sadly apropos given the situation.

[Pearl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This work cultivates a sense of empathy and (perceived) understanding for the many street salesmen one encounters in Europe; in particular, I was marked by Khouma's language about coexisting feelings of pride and shame regarding his livelihood. The protagonist describes his life's events in a factual narrative style, with only a few punctuated displays of strong emotion/reflection. While not always the most engaging read, I think the format itself spoke to the drudgery of the protagonist's unanchored and uncertain existence as an illegal traveling worker.

Themes that stuck out to me:
1. The immediate community formed by sharing national origin when you find yourself out of familiar waters, at least for the Senegalese community described by Khouma. It was astonishing how much sacrifice and collaboration went into sustaining the protagonist's community, and further satisfying to see him transition from a young beneficiary to a community leader over the decades.
2. The conflicting feelings of earning money in a career that most people detest. The protagonist confesses he feels shame and guilt when pestering people to check out his wares, but also pride when he feels degraded when people offer 'hand-out money' as if he were a beggar. He sees it as an unsavory, but ultimately legitimate, career that is absolutely distinct from begging; ultimately, he is providing goods in exchange for money like countless other professions.

[Isabel Schmieta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was read for my Cultural Foundations II class at NYU.

I found this book to be very insightful into a world that I knew from one perspective. I greatly enjoyed not only the story, written with such simplicity, but also the knowledge I gained from. My class even had the opportunity to attend a lecture by Pap Khouma about this book and ask specific questions, which furthered my understanding about his perspective and the general role immigrants play in Italian society, a country that I have been visiting my whole life, but this perspective I was completely unaware of.