The Dark Child: The Autobiography of an African Boy

The Dark Child is a distinct and graceful memoir of French author Camara Laye's youth in the village of Koroussa, French Guinea.

Long regarded as Africa's preeminent Francophone novelist, Laye (1928-1980) herein marvels over his mother's supernatural powers, his father's distinction as the village goldsmith, and his own passage into manhood, which is marked by animistic beliefs and bloody rituals of primeval origin. Eventually, he must choose between this unique place and the academic succe...