The Silence of the Spirits. Wilfried N'Sondé

The Silence of the Spirits - Wilfried N'Sondé


Скачать книгу
ection>

      THE SILENCE OF THE SPIRITS

image

      GLOBAL AFRICAN VOICES

      Dominic Thomas, editor

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

      Pap Khouma, Edited by Oreste Pivetta

      Translated by Rebecca Hopkins

      Introduction by Graziella Parati

       Little Mother: A Novel

      Cristina Ali Farah

      Translated by Giovanna Bellesia-Contuzzi and Victoria Offredi Poletto

      Introduction by Alessandra Di Maio

       Life and a Half: A Novel

      Sony Labou Tansi

      Translated by Alison Dundy

      Introduction by Dominic Thomas

       Transit: A Novel

      Abdourahman A. Waberi

      Translated by David Ball and

      Nicole Ball

       Cruel City: A Novel

      Mongo Beti

      Translated by Pim Higginson

       Blue White Red: A Novel

      Alain Mabanckou

      Translated by Alison Dundy

       The Past Ahead: A Novel

      Gilbert Gatore

      Translated by Marjolijn de Jager

       Queen of Flowers and Pearls: A Novel

      Gabriella Ghermandi

      Translated by Giovanna Bellesia-Contuzzi and Victoria Offredi Poletto

       The Shameful State: A Novel

      Sony Labou Tansi

      Translated by Dominic Thomas

      Foreword by Alain Mabanckou

       Kaveena

      Boubacar Boris Diop

      Translated by Bhakti Shringarpure

      and Sara C. Hanaburgh

       Murambi, The Book of Bones

      Boubacar Boris Diop

      Translated by Fiona Mc Laughlin

       The Heart of the Leopard Children

      Wilfried N’Sondé

      Translated by Karen Lindo

       Harvest of Skulls

      Abdourahman A. Waberi

      Translated by Dominic Thomas

       Jazz and Palm Wine

      Emmanuel Dongala

      Translated by Dominic Thomas

      THE SILENCE OF THE SPIRITS

image

      WILFRIED N’SONDÉ

      Translated by KAREN LINDO

image

      This book is a publication of

      Indiana University Press

      Office of Scholarly Publishing

      Herman B Wells Library 350

      1320 East 10th Street

      Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA

       iupress.indiana.edu

      Original publication in French as

       Le Silence des esprits

      © 2010 Actes Sud

      English translation © 2017 by Indiana University Press

      All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.

      The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.

      Manufactured in the United States of America

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Names: N’Sondé, Wilfried, author. | Lindo, Karen, translator.

      Title: The silence of the spirits / Wilfried N’Sondé ; translated by Karen Lindo.

      Other titles: Silence des esprits. English | Global African voices.

      Description: Bloomington, Ind. : Indiana University Press, 2017. | Series: Global African voices | “Original publication in French as Le Silence des esprits (c) 2010 Actes Sud.” | Includes bibliographical references.

      Identifiers: LCCN 2017008799 (print) | LCCN 2017009714 (ebook) | ISBN 9780253028945 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780253029072 (e-book)

      Subjects: LCSH: Africans—France—Fiction. | Illegal aliens—France—Fiction.

      Classification: LCC PQ 3989.3.N76 S5513 2017 (print) | LCC PQ 3989.3.N76 (ebook) | DDC 843.92—dc23

      LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017008799

      1 2 3 4 5 22 21 20 19 18 17

       To Paul N’Sondé . . . and other martyrs

      Because it is not enough to live, you must also be beautiful!

      SERGE MNSA N’SONDÉ

      And then he brought another horse, red. Whoever mounted it received the power to remove peace from earth, so that men could cut each other’s throats.

      APOCALYPSE, VI, 4

      The moon had flowered from my green chrysanthemums

      When the wolves secretly recited anathema.

      In the lowlands, requiems are the rage.

      A weary prayer pronounced like a presage:

      Cain today is armed with an axe,

      In a cowardly gesture, he has again struck,

      He spits out like a vampire his lifeless victim

      Then tramples on the rhymes that yesterday I had gathered!

      My body goes out beneath his sad smile

      To escape mornings that terrify and cause suffering.

      Cain today is armed with an axe,

      In a cowardly gesture, he has again struck.

      My mother had woven my shroud of diamonds

      Because injured too often my heart bled a long time!

      He spits out like a vampire his lifeless victim

      Then tramples on the rhymes that yesterday I had gathered.


Скачать книгу