
Dealing With The Dead, the latest novel from Los Angeles-based Congolese author and previous International Booker Prize finalist Alain Mabanckou, follows on from his previous, well-received titles African Psycho and Black Moses. Ittells the tale of Liwa Ekimakingaï: dead aged just 24, Liwa is trapped with the other ghosts of Frère Lachaise cemetery, wandering aimlessly with tales of woe and regret.
Advised by these ghostly colleagues to avoid returning to his hometown of Pointe Noire – where he intends to visit his grandmother one final time and find out what led to his demise – Liwa unwisely ignores them. Back home, he discovers a whirlwind of skullduggery, secrets and deadly deeds within the political framework of the Congo.
The novel’s early chapters are like an upside-down post-death fever dream, as we follow Liwa’s efforts to get to grips with being a new addition to the walking dead. Constant flashbacks vividly depict his previous life, especially moments with his wise grandmother Mâ Lembé, and dark humour abounds: Mabanckou’s satire is as biting as writers from Armando Iannucci to Paul Beatty. Dealing With The Dead is a rewarding, humorously dark read from a writer acknowledged as one of Africa’s finest.
Dealing With The Dead, Alain Mabanckou [trans. Helen Stevenson] (Serpent’s Tail)
Price: £14.99/£12.99 Ebook. Info: here
words DAVID NOBAKHT