Fouta Street by Laurence Gavron

Mostly for work-related purposes, I needed recently to educate myself better about the everyday life and languages of some French-speaking countries in Africa, Senegal among them. Books and authors originary from those areas may always guide my steps towards my knowledge journeys, no matter the topics.

My eyes fell on late Laurence Gavron´s Fouta Street book. Gavron, which was a French-Senegalese author and film director promised a new literary adventure in a world unfortunately so far from my comfort zone. Challenge accepted.

The book is set between Senegal and Brooklyn. A young lady is sent to the US, to join a husband who was promised to her since she was a child. There is nothing extreme in this relationship, as both are good people, trying to follow traditions. Her promised man is working hard, doesn´t dream about love. She, under 18, may have some dreams of herself, but at least for the beginning, she is trying to figure out the change and her new world she inhabits.

But once she steps outside the comfort zone, there may be temptations, as expected, and a chance to love is offered to her she cannot resist. Suddenly her husband is found death and Jules/Suleymane, a Senegalese detective on holidas in NYC, is getting involved.

Actually, I´ve found out later on, the book is part of a series featuring Jules/Suleymane, but the book can be also easily be read as a stand alone.

There is a very colourful and diverse cast of characters - including a marabout - and a rich background featuring social and political encounters, traditions and language diversity and vocabulary. The book is relatively short, with the crime/investigative part relatively easy, whose end was impossible to predict. 

Personally, I felt rewarded by the amount of information I received, but I vested a minimal interest in the story as such. Maybe because I am used with thrilling plots and unexpected turns and twists. The mixture between traditional life and modern challenges, plus the implications of free will in love and life. Especially recommended if you are interested in Senegalese voices, although I may continue the searches for even better literary representations.

Rating: 3 stars