5.0
Scarlet Song
by Mariama Bâ
Mireille, daughter of a French diplomat, Ousmane, son of a poor Muslim family in Senegal: two childhood sweethearts forced to share their love in secret. Their marriage shocks and dismays both sets of parents, but it soon becomes clear that their youthful optimism and love is a poor defense against the pressures of society. As Ousmane is lured back to his roots, Mireille is left humiliated, isolated and alone. The tyranny of tradition and chauvinism is brilliantly exposed in this passionate plea for human understanding. -- Cover page 4.
FictionLiteraryLiterary Criticism
RELEASED1994
PUBLISHERLongman
LENGTH171
LANGUAGEEN
Mariama Bâ (April 17, 1929–August 17, 1981) was a Senegalese author and feminist, who wrote in French. Born in Dakar, she was raised a Muslim, but at an early age came to criticise what she perceived as inequalities between the sexes resulting from African traditions. Raised by her traditional grandparents, she had to struggle even to gain an education, because they did not believe that girls should be taught. Bâ later married a Senegalese member of Parliament, Obèye Diop, but divorced him and was left to care for their nine children. Her frustration with the fate of African women—as well as her ultimate acceptance of it—is expressed in her first novel, So Long a Letter. In it she depicts the sorrow and resignation of a woman who must share the mourning for her late husband with his second, younger wife. Abiola Irele called it "the most deeply felt presentation of the female condition in African fiction". This short book was awarded the first Noma Prize for Publishing in Africa in 1980. ([More on Wikipedia...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariama_Bâ))
5.0
Scarlet Song
by Mariama Bâ
Mireille, daughter of a French diplomat, Ousmane, son of a poor Muslim family in Senegal: two childhood sweethearts forced to share their love in secret. Their marriage shocks and dismays both sets of parents, but it soon becomes clear that their youthful optimism and love is a poor defense against the pressures of society. As Ousmane is lured back to his roots, Mireille is left humiliated, isolated and alone. The tyranny of tradition and chauvinism is brilliantly exposed in this passionate plea for human understanding. -- Cover page 4.
FictionLiteraryLiterary Criticism
RELEASED1994
PUBLISHERLongman
LENGTH171
LANGUAGEEN
Mariama Bâ (April 17, 1929–August 17, 1981) was a Senegalese author and feminist, who wrote in French. Born in Dakar, she was raised a Muslim, but at an early age came to criticise what she perceived as inequalities between the sexes resulting from African traditions. Raised by her traditional grandparents, she had to struggle even to gain an education, because they did not believe that girls should be taught. Bâ later married a Senegalese member of Parliament, Obèye Diop, but divorced him and was left to care for their nine children. Her frustration with the fate of African women—as well as her ultimate acceptance of it—is expressed in her first novel, So Long a Letter. In it she depicts the sorrow and resignation of a woman who must share the mourning for her late husband with his second, younger wife. Abiola Irele called it "the most deeply felt presentation of the female condition in African fiction". This short book was awarded the first Noma Prize for Publishing in Africa in 1980. ([More on Wikipedia...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariama_Bâ))
