Republic of the Congo
Novel:
Black Moses by Alain Mabanckou
Summary: This
2015 novel (translated into English in 2017) follows the life of a young boy
from the Congo nicknamed Moses. He is raised in an orphanage, which starts out
as a Christian charity, but is then taken over by communists. Moses escapes from
the orphanage and becomes a homeless gang member in the town of Pointe-Noire
with the nickname of Little Pepper. He befriends the madam of a brothel, who is
from Zaire and living in Congo illegally. After a series of betrayals by his
fellow gang members and the Congolese government, Little Pepper begins to
suffer from alcoholism and memory problems. After committing a serious crime,
he ends up in a prison, which is located at the same site as his old orphanage,
bringing the story full circle.
Response: I
don’t know how I feel about this book. It was easy to read and short, which are
good things. The whole time I was reading, I was trying to figure out why it
was titled “Black Moses.” I never came up with a good answer, and then I
realized that the original title of the book was “Petit Piment,” which translates
to “Little Pepper.” That makes much more sense, and I stopped trying to find
some kind of biblical connection. I will say that the title “Black Moses”
almost completely gave away that Little Pepper would eventually make his way
back to the orphanage, although I expected him to free the orphans or something
like that. Instead, he is imprisoned there himself, which is, I’m sure, a cultural
commentary.
This book is fine. I was entertained by it, but not exactly
intrigued enough to want to do the kind of thinking that I probably need to do
in order to really appreciate it.
Food:
Spicy Peanut Soup and Fufu
This was the grand surprise of the whole global cooking project,
I think. I went to an African grocery where the people were pretty dismissive
of me and my questions. Which brand of red palm oil should I buy? What’s the
difference between cocoyam and cassava? Which one should I buy to make fufu? The
lady was like, “Red palm oil is red palm oil. Just buy some already.” But then,
she was like “Cocoyam and cassava are totally different tubers. They taste
completely different, and you cannot substitute one for the other.” I ended up
buying a box of fufu mix made with ground cocoyam and a bag of ground cassava
so that I could try them both. Let me tell you – they taste exactly the same. I
admit that I don’t exactly have a refined fufu palate, but seriously, they are
EXACTLY THE SAME.
I was very skeptical about peanut soup. I am not a huge fan
of peanuts in general, although I wouldn’t say I dislike them either. They just
don’t get me excited to eat something. And I was a little concerned about the
spice level. My husband was also very not excited about eating with his hands. But
this meal ended up being one of the most memorable, and one of the most tasty! I
have made it twice more, and it is in my regular soup rotation now. This is the
recipe I used: http://congocookbook.com/soup_and_stew_recipes/peanut_soup.html
Also, here is a great video on how to make the fufu into a
little soup scoop. So fun!
Cocktail:
I found a recipe for a real cocktail called the Congo Blue –
I didn’t invent this one. It’s not actually blue, but it’s sweet and very
tasty!
Santé!
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