So Long a Letter

Rating:
Summary: A moving story with a universal theme
Review: I was introduced to this book by a friend who said that it changed the direction of her life. Indeed, I can see how anyone with an open mind would find a personal connection with Ramatoulaye's story. The comments about women's issues in the other reviews should not dissuade any man or woman from reading this book. Who has not suffered disappointment, betrayal, fear, and intense sadness? And who does not need to know that even through the worst that life throws at you, there is hope? Survival is not necessarily reserved for the fittest. Ramatoulaye stoicly accepts her husband's betrayal, but inside she suffers, and through that suffering and a subtle rendering of life's constant comedy she gains strength and independence. Again, any son, daughter, mother, father, wife, or husband will gain something valuable from So Long a Letter.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: In "So Long a Letter" one gets the deep feelings of an African woman, a middle aged Senegalese school teacher called Ramatoulaye. Ramatoulaye is an educated Muslim mother, who got abandoned by her husband, and who is finally faced with the new position in her life as a widow
In this absolutely magnificent book by Mariama Ba that is written in a poetic flow, Ramatoulaye determinedly adjusts to her changing roles and writes a letter to her close friend Aissatou, who now lives abroad as a single woman. Starting with her classic introduction of, "Our long association has taught me that confiding in other allays pain." Mariama Ba through Ramatoulaye begins her story and takes the reader into the world of Ramatoulaye's culture, her past and her hopes and dreams and forces the reader to confront the purpose of controversial traditions and religions in the lives of people in modern day Africa.
I recommend this book along with THE USURPER AND OTHER STORIES,DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE

Rating:
Summary: An exceptional book. It has remained imprinted on my mind
Review: Mariama Ba was absolutely magnificent in this book. The manner of poetic prose she adopts is not only touching but also addictive. I first read this book in High School in Kenya. I must say that this is the book that opened me up to the writing of poetry, plays, and prose. Nonetherless , this book greatly explores the recurring and controversial purpose and place of traditions and religions in modern day Africa. It's a must read for all women of the world, and for the men who hope to love them.

Rating:
Summary: A widow's poignant story
Review: Mariama Ba's So Long a Letter, clearly demonstrates the power of the pen.

Middle aged Senegalese school teacher, Ramatoulaye, who is an educated Muslim woman, a mother, an abandoned wife, and now a widow adjusts to her changing roles with strength but sadness.

She writes a letter to her long time friend, Aissatou, whose husband also chose to take a second wife years before; Aissatou now lives abroad as a single woman. As Ramatoulaye says to her friend by way of introduction, "Our long association has taught me that confiding in other allays pain."

And so Ramatoulaye begins her story. In the pages that follow, little by little, Ramatoulaye takes us into her world, her culture, her past. Ba shows the reader how although a woman's experiences and opportunities might have changed somewhat in the 20th century, it becomes clear how the hopes and dreams and disappointments of Ramatoulaye's mother's mother, her mother, and Ramatoulaye, herself, all tie into each other.

We learn about Ramatoulaye's deep pain when after decades of matrimony and friendship with her husband Modou suddenly grind to a halt as Ramatoulaye's husband reveals an affair with one of their daughter's classmates to leave the house to start a new family.

Ba's skill as a writer and as an advocate for the woman's voice, lies not in preaching or didactical posturing, but instead by a subtle demonstration of what actually happened.

She invites the reader to see the different sides and roles people play in Ramatoulaye's life and does not make it a black/white issue.

However, this work will definitely appeal to women who are interested in learning about a feminist/womanist perspective on other cultures as well as women who are well versed in West African culture.

Detractors might call this work an angry book, while on the other side of the spectrum, ultra feminists might dismiss Ramatoulaye as missing the ball for failing to vociferously denounce sexism in addition to not taking the opportunity to criticize a culturally inspired fundamentalist sexist rendering of Islam.

Ultimately, So Long a Letter does not become bogged down into politics, nor does Ramatoulaye become confined as a victim or a figure that we, the reader, should pity. Instead this patient and beautiful character talks about how she has learned, in the words of Voltaire, to cultivate one's garden or in the words of Southern Black women, to make lemonade, when life kicks you down.

So, this timeless classic story transforms into a parable about friendship and love and most important of all, hope. As Ramatoulaye writes in her final paragraph to her friend, "Despite everything, disappointments and humiliations-hope still lives in within me. It is from the dirty and nauseating humus that the green plant sprouts into life, and I can feel new buds springing up in me. The word 'happiness' does indeed have meaning," doesn't it? I shall go out in search of it ...

Rating:
Summary: Insightful and interesting...
Review: Senegalese writer Mariama Ba gives insight and commentary on the lives of two female friends in Senegal who take different paths in life when their husbands decide to take another wife. I bought this book before going to Senegal and found it insightful and an interesting read. While it is a good book, I thought Sembene Ousmane's "Xale" (with its similar theme of a polygamous marriage gone awry) to be the more interesting book.

Rating:
Summary: A West African-Senegal Muslim Woman's Life's Story.
Review: So Long A Letter, 90 pages is written journal-style. I was so enthralled with all of the characters'life stories that I wish that I could read the French, orginal version for its true essence vs. an English translation. Nevertheless, I was in tune with the main character, Ramatoulaye, of my age group and the author Mariama Ba of mother's generation. We connected well at all levels, in fiction and real life. I am curious, has anyone read/know a first wife who peaceably accepts co-wives?

Rating:
Summary: Insightful and interesting...
Review: this book is used by a lot of classes at my school (SUNY Buffalo): world lit, world civilization, etc. It's very short and a terrific book for such purposes. beyond that sort of silly usefulness, this is one of the most beautiful books i've ever read (though another reviewer says the french is better, and that's probably true, but i neither know french nor own the french copy, so if you just want to read the book, it's not such a big deal that it's not in french). bâ's language (in translation) is exquisite, almost slow, and reading it (though it's a quick and easy read) is like being suspended in time, floating down a beautiful river. i mean, she uses words like "pawpaws" (how often do you get to read about pawpaws?) and even her character's name, "Ramatoulaye" is rhythmic. the book pulses slowly, sensually-- an opening phrase "the words create around me a new atmosphere in which i move, a stranger and tormented" is a perfect description of the way the reader encounters the molasses-like (as in, sweet but slow) text.

i am not saying that this book is slow-- indeed, it reads quickly and once one sees how beautiful the words are, it's impossible to put the book down until one finishes it a few hours later. but the _beauty_ of the book is a slow one, the slowness of a hot place, of round fruit, of social change, of reflection--

read it.

Rating:
Summary: one of the most beautiful books i've read
Review: this book is used by a lot of classes at my school (SUNY Buffalo): world lit, world civilization, etc. It's very short and a terrific book for such purposes. beyond that sort of silly usefulness, this is one of the most beautiful books i've ever read (though another reviewer says the french is better, and that's probably true, but i neither know french nor own the french copy, so if you just want to read the book, it's not such a big deal that it's not in french). bâ's language (in translation) is exquisite, almost slow, and reading it (though it's a quick and easy read) is like being suspended in time, floating down a beautiful river. i mean, she uses words like "pawpaws" (how often do you get to read about pawpaws?) and even her character's name, "Ramatoulaye" is rhythmic. the book pulses slowly, sensually-- an opening phrase "the words create around me a new atmosphere in which i move, a stranger and tormented" is a perfect description of the way the reader encounters the molasses-like (as in, sweet but slow) text.

i am not saying that this book is slow-- indeed, it reads quickly and once one sees how beautiful the words are, it's impossible to put the book down until one finishes it a few hours later. but the _beauty_ of the book is a slow one, the slowness of a hot place, of round fruit, of social change, of reflection--

read it.

Rating:
Summary: A fresh voice
Review: This is a voice you don't hear often. Yes Mariama Ba is an Islamic woman, but what is really fresh for me is the fact that she is Senegalese. I've lived in West Africa and this book captures the slow rhythms, the intense depth of feeling, the understated poignancy that one encounters in those cultures. It is an articulate account of the trauma of multiple marriages and a woman's loss of illusions about love. Other possible readings mentioned by other reviewers (woman in an Islamic society, woman vs man, oppressed vs oppressors) are of less interest to me and should not put you off - this is not a tract or a polemic.

One should note a few negatives: 1) It is a first novel clearly drawn from life experiences so it is autobiography more than fiction. 2) The style is a little schooled at first and she isn't always confident in her voice. 3) She doesn't have enough material and the quality is uneven, in particular when she indulges herself in enumerating the qualities and shortcomings of her children.

Still a poignant, poetic story. Strongly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful view on Islamic women and polygamous marriages
Review: This was a wonderful, short, but beautiful book on the life of an Islamic woman who was a co-wife. It shows what many women have to deal with and the sexism that they may encounter in their lives. I would say it isn't an angry book, nor a sad book, but a book that tells it like it is. It is a must for those interested in the Islamic ways of life.