Good Morning Comrades

#194
Title: Good Morning Comrades
Author: Ondjaki
Publisher: Biblioasis
Year: 2001/2008 (tr.)
Country: Angola
127 pages

A terrific, deceptively simple, and artful tale of fear in Angola. The story centers on a schoolboy. Through his interactions with his visiting aunt, his apparently straightforward and uncritical view of life in Luanda is called into question, both for the reader and, ultimately for him. His casual and matter-of-fact narrative transforms as events both real and imagined break through his facade. This description doesn't do justice to Ondjaki's economical and precise prose. I highly recommend Good Morning Comrades for both historical and literary reasons.