Liam couldn’t put the book down.

Experiences of Black Muslims living in Senegal. Emphasizes the rich diversity of languages and cultures in this part of the world.

Written in the 1960s (1961), so not very recent. Liam recommends this book as a great classic to showcase Black writing.

Story of a young man in his village. Character is relatable. He is chosen by his community to go to a French school. Story of conflict of this young boy who doesn’t feel part of this new community, and struggles with his village elders who don’t want their youth to be “left behind” and miss out on receiving a French education. 

Refers to the culture of the colonizer and the struggle that oppressed communities might have to negotiate their relationship with the colonizer. 

Quite a philosophical journey in the book, but that won’t stop students from engaging. 

Skips ahead to the main character as an adult who has become a “Europeanized Black man” and wants to reconnect with his roots.

Can be done as a unit (190 pages).

Themes include parallels with the Residential School experiences in Canada, coming of age story, relatable to teens.

Classroom use:

• Accessible language to Immersion and upper-year Extended students

• Vocabulary is a bit more demanding, not recommended for Core. Could work for Grade 9-10 Immersion or a strong Grade 12 Core class.

• Require lessons on the historical context

• Philosophical at certain points, but it is not a main theme of the story

• Content warnings: Abuse at the start but not a running theme