In 1880 Dabilly, a young white man, seeks a life of colonial adventure in Cote d'Ivoire, joining the French trying to set up trading routes. A hundred years later, a black boy from Amsterdam is sent to West Africa to visit his grandmother and finds his roots there. Both men tell the story. This is a fresh and witty portrait of colonial and post colonial Africa - well worth reading.
To the Negrophobes, The Negro is ignorant, the only thing he understands is a kick up the arse. To the Negrophiles, the Negro is a big child, he needs to be educated with the firm but fair authority of a father. The Tropics favour cut and dried philosophies. Nuance is never appropriate. When the subject of women rears its head these camps dissolve and new lines are drawn based on old grudges .... The tension is relieved only when the British are mentioned. A shared loathing of the British moderates the tone.
