Allah is not obliged by Ahmadou Kourouma

Allah is not obliged (Allah n’est pas obligé) was written by Ahmadou Kourouma in 2000. It was translated into English by Frank Wynne in 2006. The story follows a young boy named Birahima, who becomes swept up in the violence of the civil war overflowing from the neighboring country of Liberia. Forced to become a child soldier, Birahima is at first excited by the idea of fighting with an army. But as time goes on, he becomes more and more traumatized by each violent act that he witnesses, or hears about from other child soldiers. A pointed critique of postcolonial African politics, Allah is not obliged won the French Prix Renaudot award in 2000.

Ahmadou Kourouma was born in Cote d’Ivoire (the Ivory Coast) in 1927, and died on December 11, 2003. His writing was very political, critiquing French political influence and policies in West Africa. He was also extremely critical of African postcolonial politics. As of this writing, Ahmadou Kourouma remains the most well-known French-language African writer, and is sometimes even called the “African Voltaire.”

Published by earthreading

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