MYTHOPOESIS, CHILDHOOD AND HISTORY IN BEN OKRI’S THE FAMISHED ROAD AND EMMANUEL DONGALA’S LES PETITS GARÇONS NAISSENT AUSSI DES ÉTOILES

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This article shows how in Ben Okri’s The Famished Road and Emmanuel Dongala’s Les petits garçons naissent aussi des étoiles, mythopoesis, childhood and history interact to engage with politics and society. Ben Okri is a London-based Nigerian writer. Although he wrote several books, The Famished Road (1991) is the novel that brought him to the attention of the public. The novel’s main character and narrator is Azaro, a boy who observes and comments on the socio-political developments around him. Emmanuel Dongala is from Congo-Brazzaville. He is mostly well-known for Jazz et vin de palme, a collection of short-stories. His novel Les petits garçons naissent aussi des étoiles (1998) is, like The Famished Road, the narrative of a boy’s gaze at the social events that take place in his country. Both novels also draw on mythopoesis.

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