Une si longue lettre

Ramatoulaye has just lost her husband — who, before dying, had married a second wife of the age of his sons. During the ninety days of ritual mourning, she writes to her childhood friend Aissatou: it is this letter that we read. A calm indictment against polygamy, castes, and the weight of traditions on Senegalese women — without ever renouncing love or faith.

First novel by Mariama Bâ, published in Dakar by Nouvelles Éditions Africaines in 1979 (original ISBN 9782723604307), the book received in 1980 the very first Noma Prize for publication in Africa, awarded at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Translated into more than twenty languages, it is listed among the “100 best books of Africa in the 20th century” chosen by Columbia University libraries and is included in the Senegalese school curriculum.

Sources

• https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariama_B%C3%A2
• https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Une_si_longue_lettre
• https://openlibrary.org/works/OL4672081W