Fascinating historical fiction from a time and place not often seen in literature. I learned a great deal reading this.

The second part in a trilogy about the role of Cameroon in WW II, the book tells the story of Pouka who comes back to his native village after being educated by the French (so the colonial power) in the capitol city of Yaoundé. He is proud of his education and even starts a poetry group, but then Germany occupies France, and many from the poetry club are recruited as soldiers - and much like the multi award winning (and better) "At Night All Blood Is Black" about Senegal in WW I, the novel shows how the colonial powers used African soldiers as cannon fodder to fight the Axis powers. As the book explains, all African soldiers at the time were referred to as Senegalese, because the colonial rulers didn't care where they actually came from, it was all the same to them anyway.

Nganang strongly relies on oral traditions when telling the stories of young men that were brainwashed and alienated in colonial education systems and then sent to die as second-class soldiers in a war they had nothing to do with, often signing up to flee their personal situation in hopes to be acknowledged by the French. I particularly appreciated that the book also talks about the women which stayed behind, vulnerable and with hardly any defense. In the background, the fact that Cameroon used to be a German colony looms: Older citizens still remember this, and perceive the absurdity that the younger generation fights for the new occupying force against the old colonial rulers.

While the narrative voice is of course right when it points out that the book gives a voice to the voiceless, the book does tend to overexplain, which takes away from its potential force. Still, an important and often fascinating read.

This novel has the unusual setting (for American readers, at least) of Cameroon, during the WWII, and critically explores colonialism, race, and politics as Cameroon finds itself between empires after the fall of its patron colonizer, France in 1940. Nganang uses a protagonist called Pouka, a poet, to bring us into the story, which in less capable hands might have suffered under the weight of so much polemics.. But it doesn't suffer a bit--it's a well-written, captivating tale about a little-known but significant slice of history in the 20th century. I recommend it.

So well written I was drawn right in. A book characters that kept me turning the pages highly recommend .#netgalley#fsg

Intense, well-written, uncomfortable, nostalgic.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. looking forward to more of Nganang's work.

Powerful and alluring storytelling opens doorways into the world of 1940s Cameroon. A riveting blend of historical fact flavors the plot throughout. Main characters Pouka (a poet) and his cousin Hebga (a fighter) are launched from small village subsistence life into the snares of WW2. Nganang eviscerates a tangled legacy of colonialism and nuances of multicultural indigenous cultural traditions. Significant addition to the canon of African Literature. Full review on BookBrowse.

Great read. The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.