Harare Review of Books

168 pages.

This edition Oct 3, 2023 (Biblioasis)

Fiction.

This marvelously witty book skewers capitalist consumption and also manages to keep up a running commentary on decades of life as a Francophone African immigrant in Paris. In-between stories of the lives of security guards, Standing Heavy records their thoughts and observations on the job, which is where most of the humour is—which we need, because the life of an immigrant on the verge of precarity is really grim. No one chooses that life, but it’s remarkably easy to get caught up in it. And, as one character’s story shows, choosing to move back home does not necessarily free you from its impact.

This is also a snapshot of a certain kind of Paris from the 1960s to the 2010s. French and world political history impact migrant lives in sometimes unexpected ways. We also get some commentary on the politics (particularly entertaining is Houphouët-Boigny) and life of Francophone Africa.

My next plan is to read Standing Heavy in French (Debout-payé) to see if I can still catch the wit; however, undoubtedly, this is also the work of a brilliant translator.

A delight; recommended.

Thank you to Biblioasis and to Edelweiss for the DRC.