This story was set in the mind of a 42-year-old porcupine. Well, sort of. The porcupine’s mind was reflecting on his life as the “harmful double” of a human being in a Congolese village. His master or double, Kibandi was initiated by his father at a young age of 11. Kibandi’s initiation marked the beginning of his "masterhood" of his animal double. Together, they killed several dozen human beings in Kibandi’s lifetime. Kibandi ordered and his double executed the killings.The descriptions of the killings were intense so perhaps its not surprising that the porcupine needed a soul cleansing through confession to the poor baobab tree. Throughout the book, the reflective porcupine confides in the tree for what seemed to me like a really long time. I often found the details of the porcupine’s adventures unnerving so if you get easily creeped out, beware. I wonder if my impression of the book is a bit clouded by my own superstitions or my fear of animals but let it be known that Alain Mbanckou’s “Memoirs of a Porcupine” only exacerbated my animal phobia.
Overall, a well written book. I believe it must take incredible literary talent to write a story from an animal’s perspective. And, to write a story with only comma’s as punctuation i.e. not a single period within or between chapters throughout the entire book! While I think that's mighty impressive, I also think parts of this period-less book sometimes read like a never ending rant. That said, I may check out one of his other books provided it's not so scary. Stay tuned.
Rating: 3 bows
Alain Mbanckou’s “Memoirs of a Porcupine” is available on Amazon.
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