Critical Reception of Calixthe Beyala: Works and Studies of Calixthe Beyala

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CRITICAL RECEPTION

There is no doubt that Calixthe Beyala is being hailed as a writer in a class all her own with respect to other sub-Saharan Francophone women writers of the 1970s through the 1980s. Despite what Joseph Ndinda has lamented as ‘‘the conspiracy of silence’’ of readers and critics that has for too long cloaked the writings of Cameroonian women, if compared with their male counterparts (Ndinda, 12), Anny-Claire Jaccard has maintained that thanks especially to Ca- lixthe Beyala and Werewere Liking, Cameroonian women’s writing appears to be ‘‘the most original and the most innovative of all sub-Saharan francophone women’s writing’’ (Jaccard, 161). Beyala has therefore positioned herself at the forefront of such innovative creativity. The themes that she forcefully addresses have made her a controversial author whose work will draw more (published) critical attention in the 1990s. Critical reception has been mixed. While most critics applaud her originality, both thematic and stylistic, others are uncom- fortable with her subject matter and what they feel it says about Africa (Doumbi- Fakoly, 148), and some have openly condemned her work. For instance, Ndinda has pointed out that Cameroonians were, paradoxically, some of the worst critics when her first novel appeared and some even went so far as accusing her of plagiarism (Ndinda, 71), an accusation that unfortunately persists with the pub- lication of more of Beyala’s work.

Nevertheless, Jean-Marie Volet’s views represent what many critics have said. Volet notes that Beyala is ‘‘developing into one of the most provocative writers of her generation’’ (309), and if her texts are taken as a whole, they ‘‘seem both distinctive and complementary insofar as they may well mirror the author’s journey of discovery through the maze of her own life’’ (310). Volet also main- tains that her novels ‘‘represent a set of texts daring in their narrative style, unmistakably feminist, strongly committed to the ideals of social justice, and open to the possibilities of a better future for humankind in general and African women in particular’’ (309). Feminist critics like Ire`ne d’Almeida, for instance, have hailed not only the feminist stance of Beyala’s novels but also the various ways in which she continually seeks to subvert patriarchal norms (48–51). Elo se¨ı Brie`re also notes the reappropriation of women’s bodies in Beyala’s work that is distinctively feminine, is grounded in women’s fantasies and desires, and definitely rejects and breaks away from the Negritude tradition of male authors and their portrayal and/or appropriation of the African woman’s body as Mother Africa/exotic object/whore (Roman camerounais, 231–41). Not only do women’s bodies undergo this radical ‘‘auto-appropriation’’ in Beyala’s novels, but her narrative style is one that critics have pointed out brings together an interdependence of heterogeneous voices (Borgomano, 87–94; Ellington, 102– 06). The voices of the main protagonists are always melded with other voices that serve as their doubles, their alter egos, sometimes replacing an elusive omniscient narrator and invariably serving as a mystical, spiritual guide and companion.

Some critics have raised the issue of homosexuality in Beyala’s work, an issue that to some is at best controversial and is downright scandalous to others (Ndinda, 12; Atchebro, 29). Richard Bjornson maintains, ‘‘Beyala’s lesbian ap- proach to the reality of contemporary Cameroon is unusual within the context of the country’s literate culture’’ (420). David Ndachi Tagne states, ‘‘Man is reduced to his penis, his obsessions, his corruption and his constant desire to see woman only as an instrument of pleasure.’’ He goes on to say, ‘‘Ateba’s homosexual yearnings . . . will raise an outcry from a number of African read- ers,’’ and even claims that readers will be scandalized by the ‘‘pornographic’’ content of her first novel (97). But Rangira Gallimore disagrees with those critics who put a ‘‘pornographic’’ label on her work when they accuse Beyala of ‘‘commercialising African eroticism’’ (60). In her review of Beyala’s work, Armelle Nacef also celebrates what she terms a feminine way of loving (55), and Arlette Chemain refers to her work as an audacious revolt by an African woman writer against violence against women (162–63). Finally, The´cla Mi- diohouan rightly contends that the fact that these issues are addressed ‘‘so bluntly by a woman, is a first in [sub-Saharan] literature of French expression. Calixthe Beyala’s writing has startled by its audacity, its crudeness’’ (156).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Works by Calixthe Beyala

C’est le soleil qui m’a brule. Paris: ´Editions Stock, 1987.

Tu t’appelleras Tanga. Paris: ´Editions Stock, 1988.

Seul le diable le savait. Paris: Le Pre´ aux Clercs, 1990.

Le petit prince de Belleville. Paris: Albin Michel, 1992.

Maman a un amant. Paris: Albin Michel, 1993.

Studies of Calixthe Beyala

Atchebro, Daniel. ‘‘Beyala: Trop ‘bru换lante’ pour les mecs!’’ Regards Africains 8 (1988): 29.

Bjornson, Richard. The African Quest for Freedom and Identity: Cameroonian Writing and the National Experience. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1991. 416– 20.

Borgomano, Madeleine. ‘‘Les femmes et l’e´criture-parole.’’ Notre Librairie 117 (April– June 1994): 87–94.

Brie`re, Eloı¨se. ‘‘Le retour des me`res de´vorantes.’’ Notre Librairie 117 (April–June 1994): 66–71.

  . Le roman camerounais et ses discours. Ivry: ´Editions Nouvelles du Sud, 1993.

Ce´vae¨r, Franc¸oise. ‘‘Interview de Calixthe Beyala.’’ Revue de Litte´rature Compare 67.1 (January–March 1993): 161–64.

Chemain, Arlette. ‘‘L’e´criture de Calixthe Beyala: Provocation ou re´volte gnreuse. ’’ Notre Librairie 99 (October–November 1989): 162–63.

d’Almeida, Ire`ne A. ‘‘Femme? Fe´ministe? Misovire? Les romancie`res africaines.’’ Notre Librairie 117 (April–June 1994): 48– 51.

Diallo, Assiatou B. ‘‘Un nouveau roman de Calixthe Beyala.’’ Amina 223 (November 1988): 85.

Doumbi-Fakoly. Review of Tu t’appelleras Tanga. Pre´sence Africaine 148 (1988): 147– 48.

Ellington, Athleen. ‘‘L’interde´pendance, un discours d’avenir Calixthe Beyala, Werewere Liking, et Simone Schwarz-Bart.’’ Notre Librairie 117 (April–June 1994): 102– 06.

Gallimore, Beatrice R. ‘‘Le corps: De l’alie´nation la rappropriation: Chez les roman- cie`res d’Afrique noire francophone.’’ Notre Librairie 117 (April–June 1994): 54– 60.

Genevoix, Sylvie. ‘‘Portrait: Calixthe Beyala.’’ Madame Figaro July 24, 1993: 18.

Jaccard, Anny-Claire. ‘‘Des textes novateurs: La litte´rature fe´minine.’’ Notre Librairie 99 (October–December 1989): 155–61.

Matateyou, Emmanuel. ‘‘Calixthe Beyala: Entre le terroir et l’exil.’’ French Review 69.4 (March 1996): 605–15.

Midiohouan, The´cla M. ‘‘La parole des femmes.’’ Figures et fantasmes de la violence dans les litte´ratures francophones de l’Afrique subsaharienne et des Antilles. Ed. Franca Marcato Falzoni. Bologna: CLUEB, 1991. 149–62.

Mouelle´ Kombi II, Narcisse. ‘‘Calixthe Beyala et son petit prince de Belleville.’’ Amina 268 (August 1992): 10–12.

Nacef, Armelle. ‘‘Sous le signe de l’amour au fe´minin.’’ Jeune Afrique 1423 (April 13, 1988): 55.

Ndachi Tagne, David. Review of C’est le soleil qui m’a br lu入 e´. Notre Librairie 100 (January–March 1990): 96–97.

Ndinda, Joseph. ‘‘´Ecriture et discours fe´minin au Cameroun: Trois gnrations de ro-

mancie`res.’’ Notre Librairie 118 (July–September 1994): 6–12.

Nfah-Abbenyi, Juliana M. Gender in African Women’s Writing: Identity, Sexuality, and Difference. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997.

——— . Review of Le petit prince de Belleville and Maman a un amant. Notre Librairie 118 (July–September 1994): 183.

——— . ‘‘Woman’s Sexuality and the Use of the Erotic in Calixthe Beyala. ’’ 1993 African Literature Association Selected Conference Papers. Ed. Eileen Julien, Aliko Songolo, and Micheline Rice-Maximin. Forthcoming.

Ormerod, Beverley, and Jean-Marie Volet. Romancie`res africaines d’expression fran-

c¸aise: Le sud du Sahara. Paris: ´Editions l’Harmattan, 1994.

Volet, Jean-Marie. ‘‘Calixthe Beyala, or The Literary Success of a Cameroonian Woman Living in Paris.’’ World Literature Today 67.2 (Spring 1993): 309–14.

©JULIANA MAKUCHI NFAH-ABBENYI