Books like Xala

Needing a book starting with the letter X for an A to Z title challenge, I selected Ousmane Sembene's Xala. Last year as I focused on reading books by women of color from around the globe, my books by men of color were lacking. Looking back I think I read less than five, so reading more men of color is a goal of mine for 2018. Xala, the Wolof word for impotence, takes readers to Senegal. It is a scathing satire of the current state of post colonial Senegalese and European relations as well as on polygamy and an interesting, quick read. As I am currently on route to a vacation destination, this review, as well as those for the rest of the week will be short, collected thoughts. I hope to return to my regular reviewing next week.Xala, which later became a film of the same name, takes readers to post independent Senegal. Senegalese struggle to gain key posts in society because the French still believe it is their right to hold on to these claims as well as the past. There is a fight for whether French or Wolof is the country's official language, with the younger generation more willing to assert themselves as independent Africans. The generational gap plays a key role in the novella, with lead protagonist and businessman El Hadji viewed as a test case for the entire plot. El Hadji is a respected businessman and member of the Dakar chamber of commerce. Recently he afforded himself and his first wife a pilgrimage to Mecca, earning the moniker of El Hadji. Yet, despite being a leading member of post colonial society and a good Muslim, El Hadji is facing a midlife crisis. His two wives are approaching middle age and his children are becoming teenagers and young adults, facing the prospect of marriage themselves. So El Hadji does what all good Muslims do at this stage of their lives: he takes on a third wife who is the same age as his oldest children.Throwing the wedding of the year, El Hadji enters into a third marriage. His two wives feel nothing but shame because they have daughters as old as this new toy of their husband's. El Hadji's oldest daughter Rama is embarrassed. She is against polygamy and old enough to marry, and readers discover later on that she is engaged to a doctor as the couple look forward to a happy life together sans polygamy. When El Hadji goes to consummate his new marriage, he comes down with xala. This is not limited to his new wife but to his first two wives as well. Rather than being the talk of the town and a respectable businessman, El Hadji becomes the ridicule of those around him and loses all of his business contacts and is forced to liquidate his assets and practically declare bankruptcy. His family is humiliated, used to a life of luxury. If only there is cure for the xala.Sembene includes photographs from his film of the same name in the edition of the book that I read. I found his account of post colonial Senegal to be engaging and informative as I read this novel in little time. This story was eye opening to me because I usually read books on contemporary African culture which assert women's rights. During the 1960s, women such as Rama were first demanding change but had not yet made inroads in society. Polygamy was still rampant in Muslim cultures, yet modern, university educated women demanded that this practice be stopped. This is no more evident than in this account as to gain prominence in society, El Hadji takes on a third wife to gain notoriety in society, only to be scorned by his wives and older children, and later his business contacts. From cases like these, it appeared that polygamy practices were dwindling in Africa as they became a burden from a financial sense as well as a shame for older first wives who were now educated and demanding rights in a now independent society.With harder letters like X completed, I am looking forward to my A to Z title challenge this year. I have interesting books from authors from around the globe planned for this challenge, and I hope to complete both this and the A to Z author challenge as the year moves on. Xala ended up being a thought provoking account of life in post colonial Africa and a reminder to me to read more books by men of color going forward. I hope to revisit the work of Sembene, either in print or film form, and return to Africa in my reading as the year progresses.4 stars