The King of Kahel

Very interesting, exploration into a very different world. The book reads well, but can be a little confusing with a lot of characters with unfamiliar names. From my perspective it takes a neutral view on colonialism without glorifying the European or African cultures. The story is a bit absurd, particularly relative to the exploits of the main character, who I do not think had any basis in fact

This isn't about the realization of a dream, but the journey toward it.Despite my inability to keep the unfamiliar, unpronouncable African names separated, I am drawn to reading this book. People who can endure such physical and mental stress to the point of death so many times---their motivations fascinate me.I wasn't disturbed by the long absence of certain characters like his love who disappeared from the scene and reappeared ages later as a ragged, sick derelict, because that is how life is woven. The daily effort to survive takes first place in priorities. I was surprised that he didn't try to find her, especially since his European legal wife had died, but he was with his son and they were always enduring some malady or other, including a deliberate attempt to poison them.Contrast his life to ours in which we consider basics to be cell phones and GPS devices.

I found myself checking information from the book on google. This is a true story but I found it hard to follow.

1880's, when Africa was "discovered" by a Lyonnais. Shopping full of details about this time. When Africa was still Africa, without any European influence.

Not worth reading, let along paying good money for. I have lived in Africa and this book was garbage. I couldn't even make it to the end.

This is the story of Frenchman Olivier de Sanderval. He made his way to Guinea, Africa, in the late 1800s to conquer the empire of Fouta Djallon. The book takes us through his want to make a kingdom for himself in Guinea, and build a railroad in this part of the world. Loosley based on his real life, this book gives us a picture of what de Sanderval went through to accomplish his goals in this part of the world.This book was fair. It was hard to follow at times, but for the most part, a good story. It had some comic parts and left me wandering if this is how the author viewed de Sanderval's move to Africa and his want to be king, or this is how this man actually was. The story is wild - back and forth between France and Guinea during de Sanderval's late adult life.

I'm always on the lookout for new fiction from Africa, so when I saw this translation of a Guinean book was available I snapped it up. Aside from my interest in world literature, my grandparents lived in Conakry from 1960-62, so the country holds a particular interest for me. The novel as a form does not have a long history in Africa, and as a result, much of the African fiction available in the West focuses on the struggle for independence and the legacy of colonialism. This book goes further back in history to deliver a fictionalized version of the exploits of 19th-century French adventurer Olivier de Sanderval, whose personal ambitions were at least partly to blame for France's colonization of what is modern-day Guinea.Sanderval was a prodigiously talented and wealthy man of his time, whose childhood romance with tales of exploration were the catalyst for his adult ambitions to carve a slice out of the African pie for himself (and to a lesser extent, France). He was also a prolific writer who extensively documented his travels, and the author of this novel also had access to private family archives in gathering material for the book. Unfortunately this seems like a case where having too much "true" information at one's hands actually inhibits the fiction. Far too much of the book reads like a thinly fictionalized rendering of a travelogue, in which various trials and tribulations are chronicled in a manner which becomes slightly tedious.The book does a decent job of illustrating the complexities of Europe's colonization of sub-Saharan Africa. Rather than simply decrying European colonialism, the story illustrates the internal strife among various local potentates, as well as the policy disagreements within the French establishment. In Sanderval's attempts to lock in trading rights, right of way for a railroad, and a land-grant for his own personal fiefdom, he encounters all manner of cunning and shifty characters, both French and Fula. However, it never really manages to engage as storytelling. So, even though the author handles the colonial material with a more judicious touch than most, I kept wishing I was reading a good biographical profile of Sanderval instead. Worth a look if you've an interest in African fiction or European colonialism, but probably not a book that will interest the general reader.

The King of Kahel is loosely based around the exploits of the 19th Century French industrialist Olivier de Sanderval - the man who designed, built and supplied the French Post Office with 'velocipedes' - that's bicycles to you and me. Having attained a great standard of life in Paris, Sanderval has always wanted to claim a corner of Africa and educate, refine and civilise it, with himself on the throne.As he arrives in Africa he realises that this will require more of his cunning and finances than he ever thought as he is swallowed up by the endless and ethereal tribal political systems. To complicate matters further, France now has a colonial interest in Fouta Djallon and the Kahel plateau. Will Sanderval survive the assassins, snakes, malaria and natives to ever realise his dream and become a king?The King of Kahel is very well written, the descriptions of the vistas, waterfalls and jungle will have you itching for a holiday whilst remaining relevant to the story. Olivier falls deeply in love with Africa as a country and these descriptions really help to empathise with his ambition to change and better the country. There are extended explanations of the politicking that has to be done in order to secure his tract of land and it is all done very well, keeping it interesting with the unpredictability of the tribal leaders and their easily offended customs. The descriptions of 19th century Africa are reminiscent of Wilbur Smith's writing, so if you are a fan of him then you should enjoy this.Recommended for a period romp through colonial Africa!

This is a new venture by Amazon with their Amazon Crossing, and I believe this is the first title published. To be printing the 2008 winner of the Prix Renaudot has surely to be quite a coup. This story is written by Tierno Monenembo, and is translated into English by Nicholas Elliott.Monenembo was given privileged access to the notes, etc. kept by the real life Olivier de Sanderval by his descendants, and this story is loosely based on his exploits. Olivier was a larger than life man in real life, but here he reaches almost mythic status as he sets out on his mission. Some may find this book non-PC, but remember that the African who wrote this is telling it from the perspective of that period in history. Feeling that the white European civilization is decaying into decadence Olivier sees the future of the black man coming to the fore. He dreams of building his own kingdom in Africa where he will create an utopia where races will live together and create centres of learning and greatness.Travelling to meet the Fula peoples he is on the surface looking for trading rights and permission to build a railway system, but always at the back of his mind is his dream. Finding a piece of land that he likes, he envisions his kingdom starting there, and creating a modern day Garden of Eden. But he finds the Fula customs and traditions to be quite complex and has to learn his way around them, whilst also continually having to fight diseases, and keeping the British away.With no help from his own countrymen, who think he is mad, he comes up against them when they do decide to increase their colonization. A biting satire on European Imperialism, as well as a good tale of a man that most people have forgotten, this is a good little read that will keep you engrossed.

The King of Kahel is a slow fictionalisation of the life of French colonist Olivier de Sanderval. It shows the politics and intrigue in the Scramble for Africa - a race which Olivier recognizes to be important and in which France was not taking a very active role. He sought to build a railway between Senegal and Sudan, presumably through the countries that are now Mali, Centrafrique and Chad. But most of all, he wanted to become a king and saw his opportunity in the lands of Fouta Djallon (now part of Guinea). His aim was, apparently, to conquer by acclaim rather than force but this was a slow and painstaking process of assimilation in a delicate and fragmented society. All the time, he had to look over his shoulder to see whether the British or his fellow French Government were about to overtake him.The story is relatively difficult to follow, not least as the many local kings were variously friends or enemies and changed allegiances with the wind. The constant fear of decapitation for some minor transgression of protocol became wearisome and ultimately it all blended into one miasma.There were some moments of hope; at one point - just before and during Olivier's return to France - where the action did pick up and the political machinations became clear. But this was shortlived; as Olivier returned to Africa the plot became chaotic and years passed by in the course of a paragraph. All the kings, the colonists, the villagers all blended into one. The various towns and villages, too, started to blur. By the end of the book, as Olivier was an old man, there was a feeling of "how did that happen?".Perhaps this is a fair representation of a confusing time in history and the relationship between Olivier, the French and the Africans is intriguing. But overall, the novel just didn't have enough to sustain it. Perhaps it didn't translate well.

Guinean born writer Tierno Monénembo has had access to the family archives of the real life Olivier de Sanderval, a 19th century French explorer who briefly claimed his own kingdom in the highlands of what is now Guinea. In the newly translated The King of Kahel, Monénembo uses de Sanderval to loosely base a terrifically satirical take on early French colonialism and in particular the efforts of de Sanderval in Fouta Djallon, home of the Fula people in what was eventually to become French Guinea.The writer has lived in France since the 1970s and has long been a Francophile so perhaps this isn't the most damning African take on the horrors of colonialism and the reader's sympathies do tend to lie with the eccentric and ever-so-slightly mad endeavours of de Sanderval, not least as his motives are, on the surface, based on trade and mutual benefit with the Fula people - although of course he also dreams of his own African kingdom. Meanwhile the French bureaucracy refuse to recognize de Sanderval's efforts and continually threaten armed incursion to secure the region. Not least as the hated English are sniffing around too.And then there's the Fula themselves. Constantly fighting between themselves and generally trusting no one - and in the case of the white explorers, with good reason. It's a great adventure with everyone undermining everyone else for their own ends and power being at the heart of it all.We ride with de Sanderval on his first visit to Fouta Djallon, his return to Paris to realise his treaties and then back to Fouta Djallon again as the French become ever threatening. At times it can be a little confusing as de Sanderval visits neighbouring Fula provinces but that aside, it's a great adventure and a welcome translation.

This is the fictionalised account of the life of real French adventurer and colonist, Olivier De Sanderval and his attempts, while ostensibly trying to promote French interests in Africa, to build himself a fiefdom in the heart of the muslim Fouta Djallon.His is a tale of unending strife as he fights English rivals, the hostile jungle, tropical diease, the subtle and cunning Fula (the inhabitants of Fouta Djallon), French bureaucracy, and ultimately the more direct methods of more military gallic colonists. While contrasting the refined elegance of French society, with the earthier nature of the Kingdom, not least in the figures of Sanderval's Eurpoean wife and African mistresses, the book also draws strong parallels and sees little difference between th e underhand politicking and jockeying for position of the two societies.The eandearing things about the book are the indomitable character of the hero, and the continous slightly tongue in cheek tone in which his adventures are described. This is not a laugh out loud book, but it is a book to read with a gentle, sideways smile.Less successful is the slightly confusing text where characters come and go and locations change, frequently with no prelude or coda, and it is very easy to lose track of who is who and where is where.But overall, if you're looking for something a bit different, a bit quirky, this is well worth a go.