''The Poor Christ of Bomba'' is a
satirical
Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...
novel by
Mongo Beti
Alexandre Biyidi Awala (30 June 1932 – 8 October 2001), known as Mongo Beti or Eza Boto, was a Cameroonian author and polemicist. Beti has been called one of the most perceptive French-African writers in his presentations of African life.
...
. It was published in 1956 as ''Le Pauvre Christ de Bomba''.
Plot
Set in the 1930s, the story is narrated by Dennis who is Father Drumont's house-boy. The story revolves around Father Drumont who established a parish in Bomba, a small village in
southern Cameroon
Southern may refer to:
Businesses
* China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China
* Southern Airways, defunct US airline
* Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US
* Southern Airways Express, M ...
. It tells about how he strives to convert the natives to Christianity and encourage monogamy.
Characters
* Father Drumont, a Catholic missionary.
* Father Jean-Martin LeGuen, Father Drumont's assistant.
* Raphael, a catechist and Father Drumont assistant in charge of the parish.
* Denis, the narrator and Drumont's house-boy.
* Zacharia, the parish cook.
* Vidal, a French colonial administrator of the region.
* Catherine, Dennis' lover.
* Clementine, Zacharia's wide.
* Daniel, One of Denis' companions apart from Zacharia.
References
1956 Cameroonian novels
French-language novels
Novels set in Cameroon
{{1950s-satirical-novel-stub