So Long a Letter
Mariama Bâ's pioneering debut, So Long a Letter, captures the private lives of women in 1970s Senegal.
Recently widowed, Ramatoulaye is required to take sole responsibility for the long mourning process of her late husband. A husband she has not seen in over four years - not after he married his second wife. In a letter to her friend, Ramatoulaye recalls both of their experiences as students impatient to change the world, as wives suffering in the private sphere of marriage, and as mothers witnessing the dangers of Westernisation.
Undaunted by topics of polygamy, social castes, and religion, So Long a Letter is a novel rich with poetic prose and profound wisdom.
'Mariama Bâ is in a class of her own, conveying with real power and poetry a subtle, changing world of female experience.' Guardian
'The most deeply felt presentation of the female condition in African fiction.' Abiola Irele
Translated by Modupé Bodé-Thomas
-
Free Shipping for orders $150+
Book Publication Date:
Book Publication Year:
Book Binding:
Book Language:
Book Authors:
Book Pages:
Book Dimensions: 12.9 cm, 0.79 cm, 19.81 cm
Book Publisher:
Publishing has a diversity problem. There are less 'diverse' books being published which limits the discoverability and reach of those authors.
Representation is important. Read more about why we exist here.
An anti-racist social enterprise bookstore specialising in BIPOC books.
Only about 11% of books published are by BIPOC authors — so unless you specifically seek out books by BIPOC authors, you aren't likely to find very many of them organically. At Amplify, BIPOC authors are highlighted and celebrated. Here, they don't have to fight to be seen, and you don't have to fight to find them.
We hope that in our shop, you can discover a new favourite read, find stories that speak uniquely to you, learn about a culture outside your own (or more about your own histories), and gain a better understanding of the systems that connect us all.
Looking for something super specific?
Have a scroll through our tag directory to help direct your search and bring you to curated collections, as grouped by subgenres, identity markers, and more!
