{"product_id":"the-lieutenant-of-kouta-massa-makan-diabat-9781611862270","title":"The Lieutenant of Kouta","description":"\u003ci\u003eThe Lieutenant of Kouta\u003c\/i\u003e is the first novel in Massa Makan Diabat 's award-winning trilogy. Featuring an introduction by leading Diabat  scholar Cheick M. Ch rif Ke ta and Shane Auerbach, it tells the story, part tragicomic and part hagiographic, of an African lieutenant in the French Army who returns as a decorated hero from the battlefields of Europe to Kouta, a fictionalized version of the author's own birthplace, the Malian town of Kita. Upon his return, Siriman Keita finds it difficult to adjust to village life as he navigates traditional customs in his attempts to create his place in the predominantly Muslim Kouta. The novel offers a rich and nuanced representation of Mali on the brink of independence; it is a tapestry of traditional Mandinka society and the French colonial apparatus, illustrating the dynamic interplay between the two. This text is, ultimately, a story of one man's transformation coinciding with that of his country. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Massa Makan Diabaté\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1611862272\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781611862270\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Michigan State University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/01\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 128\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.48lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.40d","brand":"Massa Makan Diabaté","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43938791850239,"sku":"9781611862270","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_fc60887c-4d3e-4a1b-a6af-7aee6812ee90.jpg?v=1681437743","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-lieutenant-of-kouta-massa-makan-diabat-9781611862270","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}