The King of Kahel

I found myself checking information from the book on google. This is a true story but I found it hard to follow.

This isn't about the realization of a dream, but the journey toward it. Despite my inability to keep the unfamiliar, unpronouncable African names separated, I am drawn to reading this book. People who can endure such physical and mental stress to the point of death so many times---their motivations fascinate me. I wasn't disturbed by the long absence of certain characters like his love who disappeared from the scene and reappeared ages later as a ragged, sick derelict, because that is how life is woven. The daily effort to survive takes first place in priorities. I was surprised that he didn't try to find her, especially since his European legal wife had died, but he was with his son and they were always enduring some malady or other, including a deliberate attempt to poison them. Contrast his life to ours in which we consider basics to be cell phones and GPS devices.

Very interesting, exploration into a very different world. The book reads well, but can be a little confusing with a lot of characters with unfamiliar names. From my perspective it takes a neutral view on colonialism without glorifying the European or African cultures. The story is a bit absurd, particularly relative to the exploits of the main character, who I do not think had any basis in fact

This is the story of Frenchman Olivier de Sanderval. He made his way to Guinea, Africa, in the late 1800s to conquer the empire of Fouta Djallon. The book takes us through his want to make a kingdom for himself in Guinea, and build a railroad in this part of the world. Loosley based on his real life, this book gives us a picture of what de Sanderval went through to accomplish his goals in this part of the world. This book was fair. It was hard to follow at times, but for the most part, a good story. It had some comic parts and left me wandering if this is how the author viewed de Sanderval's move to Africa and his want to be king, or this is how this man actually was. The story is wild - back and forth between France and Guinea during de Sanderval's late adult life.

1880's, when Africa was "discovered" by a Lyonnais. Shopping full of details about this time. When Africa was still Africa, without any European influence.

Just kinda lengthy and I could not connect with the character..

I'm always on the lookout for new fiction from Africa, so when I saw this translation of a Guinean book was available I snapped it up. Aside from my interest in world literature, my grandparents lived in Conakry from 1960-62, so the country holds a particular interest for me. The novel as a form does not have a long history in Africa, and as a result, much of the African fiction available in the West focuses on the struggle for independence and the legacy of colonialism. This book goes further back in history to deliver a fictionalized version of the exploits of 19th-century French adventurer Olivier de Sanderval, whose personal ambitions were at least partly to blame for France's colonization of what is modern-day Guinea. Sanderval was a prodigiously talented and wealthy man of his time, whose childhood romance with tales of exploration were the catalyst for his adult ambitions to carve a slice out of the African pie for himself (and to a lesser extent, France). He was also a prolific writer who extensively documented his travels, and the author of this novel also had access to private family archives in gathering material for the book. Unfortunately this seems like a case where having too much "true" information at one's hands actually inhibits the fiction. Far too much of the book reads like a thinly fictionalized rendering of a travelogue, in which various trials and tribulations are chronicled in a manner which becomes slightly tedious. The book does a decent job of illustrating the complexities of Europe's colonization of sub-Saharan Africa. Rather than simply decrying European colonialism, the story illustrates the internal strife among various local potentates, as well as the policy disagreements within the French establishment. In Sanderval's attempts to lock in trading rights, right of way for a railroad, and a land-grant for his own personal fiefdom, he encounters all manner of cunning and shifty characters, both French and Fula. However, it never really manages to engage as storytelling. So, even though the author handles the colonial material with a more judicious touch than most, I kept wishing I was reading a good biographical profile of Sanderval instead. Worth a look if you've an interest in African fiction or European colonialism, but probably not a book that will interest the general reader.

This is a rather fantastical tale of a man who decides to go to Africa to build a railroad. He's met with a mixture of welcome and mistrust, with local rulers variably aiding and hindering his progress to his destination where he hopes to garner support for his pet project. The story plods gently along, provoking the odd wry smile at its humour. It isn't the sort of book to provoke a belly laugh, and neither does the plot move with sufficient pace to draw you in. The language is interesting enough so one is left with a mildly entertaining book that I wouldn't strongly recommend to others and which won't remain memorable in the future.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It tells the story of a French industrialist, who, in the late 1800s, decided to attempt to crown himself King of a region in west Africa, populated by devious, blood-thirsty tribesmen. It's loosely based on reality, but where history often leaves us feeling dry and unfulfilled, the author has painted a beautiful scene of Africa before colonisation had taken hold, although sadly not before slavery had decimated its finest populations of young men and women. Anyway, the book alternates between showing the foolhardy bravery of Sanderval, the explorer, and his appalling racism and dreadful attitude towards the 'Negroes' that he meets on his journey. In order to win favour with the ruling tribes, he must become as devious and double-handed as them, all the while fighting off terrible sickness. This book is wonderful prose, with very little in its pages that is dull or tedious. The translation is excellent, and the only criticism I can dredge up is that remembering the names of all the characters is difficult as they are either French or Fouta Djallon - in which case, quite unpronounceable! Still, highly recommended.

Olivier de Sanderval was a real life 19th century adventurer who briefly laid claim to his own kingdom in the highlands of what is now Guinea. Tierno Monenembo's novel is "loosely" based on his exploits but lays no other claim to authenticity. As a novel it is enjoyable with everyone behaving badly; the French, the English, the native peoples. All are duplicitous, cunning, deceitful, greedy and out for whatever they can get. Out of this sordid little mess Mr Monenembo has produced an entertaining fiction which exposes the worst excesses of colonial expansionism. The characters are well drawn and there is much amusement to be found as they dodge and play around each other, desperate for gain. Anyone with an interest in this subject and those with none but who enjoy a good story well told, will enjoy this prize winning novel. Recommended

The King of Kahel is loosely based around the exploits of the 19th Century French industrialist Olivier de Sanderval - the man who designed, built and supplied the French Post Office with 'velocipedes' - that's bicycles to you and me. Having attained a great standard of life in Paris, Sanderval has always wanted to claim a corner of Africa and educate, refine and civilise it, with himself on the throne. As he arrives in Africa he realises that this will require more of his cunning and finances than he ever thought as he is swallowed up by the endless and ethereal tribal political systems. To complicate matters further, France now has a colonial interest in Fouta Djallon and the Kahel plateau. Will Sanderval survive the assassins, snakes, malaria and natives to ever realise his dream and become a king? The King of Kahel is very well written, the descriptions of the vistas, waterfalls and jungle will have you itching for a holiday whilst remaining relevant to the story. Olivier falls deeply in love with Africa as a country and these descriptions really help to empathise with his ambition to change and better the country. There are extended explanations of the politicking that has to be done in order to secure his tract of land and it is all done very well, keeping it interesting with the unpredictability of the tribal leaders and their easily offended customs. The descriptions of 19th century Africa are reminiscent of Wilbur Smith's writing, so if you are a fan of him then you should enjoy this. Recommended for a period romp through colonial Africa!

The King of Kahel is a slow fictionalisation of the life of French colonist Olivier de Sanderval. It shows the politics and intrigue in the Scramble for Africa - a race which Olivier recognizes to be important and in which France was not taking a very active role. He sought to build a railway between Senegal and Sudan, presumably through the countries that are now Mali, Centrafrique and Chad. But most of all, he wanted to become a king and saw his opportunity in the lands of Fouta Djallon (now part of Guinea). His aim was, apparently, to conquer by acclaim rather than force but this was a slow and painstaking process of assimilation in a delicate and fragmented society. All the time, he had to look over his shoulder to see whether the British or his fellow French Government were about to overtake him. The story is relatively difficult to follow, not least as the many local kings were variously friends or enemies and changed allegiances with the wind. The constant fear of decapitation for some minor transgression of protocol became wearisome and ultimately it all blended into one miasma. There were some moments of hope; at one point - just before and during Olivier's return to France - where the action did pick up and the political machinations became clear. But this was shortlived; as Olivier returned to Africa the plot became chaotic and years passed by in the course of a paragraph. All the kings, the colonists, the villagers all blended into one. The various towns and villages, too, started to blur. By the end of the book, as Olivier was an old man, there was a feeling of "how did that happen?". Perhaps this is a fair representation of a confusing time in history and the relationship between Olivier, the French and the Africans is intriguing. But overall, the novel just didn't have enough to sustain it. Perhaps it didn't translate well.