Yesterday, I began reading African Psycho (2007) by Congolese novelist, Alain Mabanckou. Is it an African remix of Bret Ellis’s ’90s classic, American Psycho? Nope, says Alain in an interview. Still, I’m pretty psyched about the thought of an African crime thriller. I’m not expecting this to be your typical African classic with the old and fairly tired faithfuls: anti-imperialist revolutionary, the village warrior, the city hustler, the westernized African, the corrupt bureaucrat, the barren woman, and so on. As far as African novels go, a murderous psychopath is definitely different and, I dare say, exciting. My review appears on 37th State the first week of August.

Other 37th State Reviews

Dog Days by Patrice Nganang

Spider King’s Daughter by Chibundu Onuzo

 

 

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