Congo (US edition)
US Edition of the International Bestseller
'This is a magnificent account, intimately researched, and relevant for anyone interested in how the recent past may inform our near future… Van Reybrouck’s bibliography alone is worth the cover price. But what distinguishes the book is its clearheadedness'
New York Times Book Review
'Balancing research with personal testimonies, Van Reybrouck . . . presents a panoramic account of Congo’s turbulent past'New York Times Book Review: Paperback Row
'A vivid panorama of one of the most tormented lands in the world… A valuable addition to the rich literature that Congo has inspired'Washington Post
'Once opened, an abyss emerges in this book, from which rises a peak of historiography and documentary literature. For Belgium the book of the century, for Europa the book of the decade'
Peter Sloterdijk Süddeutsche Zeitung in ‘Bücher des Jahres'
Awards:
Prix Médicis Essai 2012
Prix du meilleur livre étranger 2012
NDR Kultur Sachbuchpreis 2012
Prix Aujourd'hui 2013
Prix Mahogany 2013
Premio Ryszard Kapuściński 2014
Premio Letterario internazionale Tiziano Terzani 2015
The hundreds of interviews which Van Reybrouck conducted both in the slums of Kinshasa and in the villages of the interior, as well as in the African diaspora of Europe and China lend a unique dimension to a rich and convoluted history. Focusing consistently on the dreams and memories of ordinary citizens, the book shows how history moulds individual lives and how individuals can sometimes mould history in their turn. Congo: A History is an epic tale in which elderly Congolese, some of them well over a hundred, reminisce about their lives in a country where the average life expectancy has dropped to 45. It creates a panoramic canvas where child-soldiers, encountered by the author in the rebel territories in the East, talk candidly about their choices and misfortunes. It also highlights little-known aspects of contemporary Congolese culture. For example, the author travelled with female merchants from Kinshasa via Nairobi and Bangkok to Guangzhou, where he learnt how to smuggle mobile phones and wigs destined for the African markets.
With its epic sweep, eminent readability, and love for the telling concrete detail, Congo: A History does for Africa what Robert Hughes’ Fatal Shore did for Australia. Its erudition and unsurpassed curiosity recall the writings of Claudio Magris and Tony Judt; its deeply humane approach to political history echoes the work of Tzvetan Todorov and Albert Camus.