Ahmadou Kourouma was a prominent writer, playwright, and activist born in 1927 in Boundiali, Côte d'Ivoire. Educated in Mali, he served in the French military for several years before leaving to study Mathematics in Paris. He returned to Côte d’Ivoire after it won its independence in 1960 but was subsequently imprisoned and exiled for his criticism of the new government. He published his first novel, The Suns of Independence, in 1968, going on to win the Grand prix littéraire d’Afrique noire and the Prix Maillé-Latour-Landry.His work continues to find success in France, with his novel, Allah n’est pas obligé winning the prestigious Prix Renaudot and Prix Goncourt des Lycéens awards in 2000. Kourouma died in 2003. Translated from the French by Adrian Adams.Adrian Adams was born in 1945 in New York and was a lecturer in social anthropology at Aberdeen University. She was a political campaigner for the rights of Kounghani farmers against the Senegalese state and helped established basic health care in the area and literacy programmes in the Soninke language.
