Version 1.0.0
2011 Nominated

Broken Glass

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ABOUT
THE BOOK

So begins Alain Mabanckou’s riotous novel set in a dilapidated bar in the Congo. Disgraced school-teacher turned public writer, Broken Glass fails abysmally to stay out of trouble, as one drinker after another wants to make sure that their portrayal in the notebooks, (not so golden this one), will reflect their dynamic, ebullient personality. Broken Glass, Mabanckou’s finest novel, published in English for the first time, is a mocking satire on the dangers of artistic integrity.

ABOUT
THE AUTHOR Alain
Mabanckou

Alain Mabanckou (born February 24, 1966, Mouyondzi, Congo [now Republic of the Congo]) is a prolific Francophone Congolese poet and novelist whose wordplay, philosophical bent, and sometimes sly and often absurd sense of humor resulted in his being known in France as “the African Samuel Beckett.” Acclaimed for his works addressing the consequences of colonialism in Africa, Mabanckou is one of the most popular Francophone African writers in contemporary literature.

Alain Mabanckou (born February 24, 1966, Mouyondzi, Congo [now Republic of the Congo]) is a prolific Francophone Congolese poet and novelist whose wordplay, philosophical bent, and sometimes sly and often absurd sense of humor resulted in his being known in France as “the African Samuel Beckett.” Acclaimed for his works addressing the consequences of colonialism in Africa, Mabanckou is one of the most popular Francophone African writers in contemporary literature.

ABOUT
THE TRANSLATOR Helen
Stevenson

Helen Stevenson grew up in South Yorkshire and studied modern languages at Somerville College, Oxford. She is a translator and the author of three novels, Pierrot Lunaire, Windfall and Mad Elaine. Since taking up full-time writing, she regularly reviews for the Independent. She now lives in London.

Helen Stevenson grew up in South Yorkshire and studied modern languages at Somerville College, Oxford. She is a translator and the author of three novels, Pierrot Lunaire, Windfall and Mad Elaine. Since taking up full-time writing, she regularly reviews for the Independent. She now lives in London.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Country
Congo
Original Language
French
Publisher
Serpents Tail Ltd.
Translator
Helen Stevenson

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