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Anonymous
Posted April 10, 2006
This is a very interesting book. It was used for a class I took in African-American Literature. The book gives an account of a boy, named Toundi, whose dad would beat and curse him. The story is based in Africa. Toundi eventually left his parents home to stay at the European mission. He worked with a priest named, Father Gilbert. Toundi learned how to read and write English. His name was eventually changed to Joseph. His life was filled with changing situations and instability. Upon the death of Father Gilbert he eventually became a houseboy to the Commandant for the area. Certain individuals distrusted him because of a female in the story. The root cause of Toundi's problem was based on a male-female relationship including rumors of emotional affairs. The book shows that beauty on the outside can be misleading. The story has a twist of deceit, adultery, accusations, and power struggle. The setting and storyline is based in Cameroon during periods of colonialism that affected the culture of the people and the society. Toundi had written his story in a diary. It was found during his quest to escape to the Spanish zone from the mission. Unfortunately he died in his quest for freedom from bondage. He should have listened to his mother!
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More About This Textbook
Overview
It is a better guide to French Colonial Africa, and to racism, than any non-fiction account, whether by African or Frenchman. - The Times Literary SupplementHouseboy is written in the form of a diary kept by Toundi, an innocent Cameroonian houseboy who is fascinated and awed by the white world, the world of his masters. When the head of his mission is killed in an accident, Toundi becomes the "boy" of the local Commandant. In an effort to improve himself, Toundi studies his new world closely—-too closely. Gradually his eyes are opened to its realities, and in the end it destroys him.
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