{"product_id":"the-story-of-the-madman-mongo-beti-9780813920481","title":"The Story of the Madman","description":"\u003cp\u003eWidely acclaimed when first published in French in 1994, Mongo Beti's tenth novel, L'histoire du fou, continues the author's humorous yet fierce criticism of the colonial system in Africa and its legacy of governmental corruption.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTranslated here as \u003ci\u003eThe Story of the Madman, \u003c\/i\u003e the novel gives the English-speaking world Beti's comic satire of the fictional Chief Zoaételeu and his favorite sons Zoaétoa and Narcisse. In a modern fable that Beti uses to illustrate the problems of a people's disintegrating values in a postcolonial state, Chief Zoaételeu, a puppet under two dictatorial regimes, is swept into the frontline of politics, where his fortunes unravel. Along with his caustic portrayal of failed government--clearly a reflection of his native Cameroon--Beti's realism provides an intriguing view of the struggle for balance between traditional life and imminent change in African culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Mongo Beti\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0813920485\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780813920481\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Virginia Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/29\/2001\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 200\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.90lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.94h x 5.82w x 0.78d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/20\/2001 pg. 59\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eMulticultural Review\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/01\/2002 pg. 74","brand":"Mongo Beti","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48453403869439,"sku":"9780813920481","price":69.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_68e06d02-33f4-423c-89b3-c26f63283128.jpg?v=1777300039","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-story-of-the-madman-mongo-beti-9780813920481","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}