Join us for a special Book Launch party that presents Max Lobe, an important new voice in African writing, in celebration of his new novel 'A Long Way from Douala' and its recent publication in English.
Bursting with local colour, this hilarious, heartwarming coming-of-age tale follows two friends on a raucous journey across Cameroon as they grapple with grief, sexuality, and dreams of leaving.
This event is produced by HopeRoad Publishing in partnership with Renaissance One
Buy your copy from Pages of Hackney the official event bookshop for UK orders
Or order from Tertulia Books for orders from the Republic of Ireland
ABOUT THE BOOK
A Long Way From Douala is the first publication in English of a work by Max Lobe translated by Ros Schwartz, and it covers important issues of violence, terrorism, family, homosexuality and migration. Through a series of joyful sparky vignettes, Cameroon life is revealed in all its ups and downs through a challenging road trip.
On the trail of Roger, a brother who has gone north in search of football fame in Europe, Choupi, the narrator, takes with him the older Simon, a neighbourhood friend. The bus trip north nearly ends in disaster when, at a pit stop, Simon goes wandering in search of grilled caterpillars. At the police station in Yaoundé, the local cop tells them that a feckless boza who wants to go to Europe is not worth police effort and their mother should go and pleasure the police chief if she wants help! Questions of life and death are raised but the tone remains light and edgy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MAX LOBE was born in Douala, Cameroon. At eighteen he moved to Switzerland, where he earned a BA in communication and journalism and a master’s in public policy and administration. In 2017, his novel Confidences won the Ahmadou Kourouma Prize. A Long Way From Douala, his latest novel, was published in 2018 to rave reviews in Switzerland and France. Other books by the author include 39 rue de Berne, Confidences and La Trinite bantoue. Max Lobe came to Switzerland in 2004. He now lives in Geneva and works in sustainable development.
ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR
ROS SCHWARTZ is an award-winning translator from French. Acclaimed for her new version of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince (2010), she has over 100 fiction and non-fiction titles to her name and is one of the team retranslating George Simenon’s works for Penguin Classics. She was made a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and in 2017 was awarded ITI’s John Sykes Memorial Prize for Excellence.
