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Into the Niger Bend (1914)

av Jules Verne, Michel Verne (Författare)

Andra författare: Se under Andra författare.

Serier: Barsac Mission (1)

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review of
Jules Verne's Into the Niger Bend
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - April 16, 2013

This the 1st bk of the 2 bk The Astonishing Adventure of the Barsac Mission & the 7th Verne bk I've read in my recent Verne spree. Fortunately, I also have the 2nd & final bk, The City in the Sahara, wch I'll be reading & reviewing next. On the back of this 2nd bk it's proclaimed that this "may well have been Jules Verne's crowning work of science-fiction." That is probably born out by the 2nd bk but, so far, this 1st bk is mostly an adventure novel w/o any SF (except for by mysterious implication).

In I. O. Evans' intro to the 2nd bk he says: "Book 1 of Jules Verne's posthumous story, L'Étonnante Aventure de la Mission Barsac, published in this series under the title Into the Niger Bend, described the vicissitudes of the Barsac Mission, sent out at the beginning of the Nineteenth Century to ascertain whether the Negroes of French West Africa were qualified to become voters and citizens." (p 5) I'm a bit confused by this b/c French Guinea, where this African journey more or less begins, wasn't established until 1891 (according to Wikipedia). As such, I think Evans probably meant to write 'at the beginning of the Twentieth Century' instead of the "Nineteenth".

In the intro to bk 1, Evans writes: "Its opening sequence recalls Conan Doyle: as Kenneth Allott points out in his biography of Verne, "It is the very accent of Watson about to relate another of the cases of Sherlock Holmes." The rest of the chapter almost outdoes Edgar Wallace. Chapter III might have been written by one of the romantic novelists of the nineteenth century. The rest of Book I, with its adventures in the African bush and the forebodings of its witch-doctor, is reminiscent of Rider Haggard. Only in Book II does Jules Verne, master of science fiction, come into his own." (p 5) I agree. But it's a testimonial to Verne's adaptability that this 1st bk is as successful as it is just as an adventure story w/, as I've noted in my other recent Verne reviews, the usual assortment of racism problems. But, as I've also noted, I DO think that Verne's racism is more an internal struggle between the typical attitudes of a person of his class & culture of the day & Verne's own presentiments of what we might call a more 'enlightened' attitude.

[It's springtime, it's raining nicely outside (I love rain), I'm drinking red wine, I just witnessed some of the movie called Elephant Walk, & I'm listening to a recording of George Perle's "Three Movements for Orchestra". Life is good. I am alone. Life is bad.]

As much as I'm glad that this series of Verne bks called the "Fitzroy" edition exists, as much as I'm thankful to Ace for publishing it, as much as I'm grateful to I. O. Evans for his translations & informative notes, I find myself, again & again, disliking his editorial decisions: "I have" [..] "taken the liberty, found necessary by most of Verne's other translators, of abbreviating or omitting a few passages of minor interest." (p 7) Uh.. I'd like to decide that for myself! Of "minor interest" to Evans, of MAJOR interest to me!

The novel revolves around several plots - one of wch is that French politicians were in conflict over whether black citizens of 'French West Africa' shd have the right to vote. Interesting. Verne makes the proponent of blacks voting, Barsac, a central character - implying, I think, his sympathies w/ this position. "It had begun on the subject of a law proposed by the former [Barsac], to create five deputies' seats in Senegal, Gambia, Upper Guinea, and the French Soudan situated west of the Niger, and to extend the vote, granted their eligibility, to the coloured peoples without distinction of race." (p 27) I'd like to see the implied 'people-w/o-color' - even 'albinos' have color. Verne is subtle. I suspect him of writing in a 'realistic' racist manner typical of his time partially so he can sneak in a subtext of anti-racism.

"The one [Barsac again], citing the authority of many civil and military travellers familiar with the region, declared that the Negroes had risen to a high degree of civilization, he added that it availed little to have suppressed slavery unless the subject peoples were given the same rights as their masters, and in a series of perorations which the Chambre applauded vociferously, he pronounced the mighty words "liberté, egalité, et fraternité." (p 28) Of course Barsac has a political opponent. They both go to Africa to study the situation w/ the intent of accumulating 'evidence' for their respective positions - in the hope of influencing the voting in their respective favors.

Barsac's opponent seems to be proven 'correct' again & again in this 1st novel as the European travelers encounter frightening behavior from the black natives over & over again. Of course, Verne is setting up the reader in a way that may not've been so obvious to early 20th century readers but that're perhaps all-too-obvious to myself as a reader of the early 21st century. As usual, Verne's a curious mix of a 19th century novelist w/ a 20th century one's imagination. He's even cynical about politicians (wch is a 'time-honored' tradition but one not necessarily completely obvious to many people, I reckon, of the time): "M. le Governeur Valdonee then gave the usual signal for "spontaneous" applause, while Barsac stepped backwards and Bandrières [his rival] came to the front." (p 31) ""Never forget this truth, M. Florence: anyone in politics can make a mistake. That doesn't matter. But if he admits his error, he's lost."" (p 151)

Reasons for imperialism are most obvious when the conquering country is small & highly populated & when its natural resources are approaching depletion: "The region involved" [..] "exceeded 1,000,000 square miles" [..] "about three times the size of France". (p 32)

There's even a nice part where Verne throws in slang:

""Who are they?" asked Barsac.

""A type and his lady," was all the fellow said.

""Colonials?"

""I shouldn't think so, to judge by the look of them," the orderly replied. "The man's tall, with not much lawn on his pebble."

""His pebble?"

""He's bald! Tow-coloured whiskers and eyes like the knob of a staircase." - p 34

Nice. I wish there was more like that. But there isn't. The "eyes like the knob of a staircase" presumably means he has a thyroid problem. What there is instead of slang is a multi-lingual-ism that strikes me as quite impressive. One of the worst things that the worst forms of imperialism does is banish the languages of the areas conquered. The British, eg. forced the Irish to speak English. Under Franco, in mid 20th century Spain, Catalan was illegal. This is IMPORTANT. Verne actually explores multiple languages more beautifully in this than in any other bk of his I've read:

"Jane did not look amused. "That's why it would be better to ask them in Bambara."

""In Bambara? Am I supposed to know Bambara?"

""Well, you can learn it."

""At my age?"

""Well, I've learned it, and I'm your aunt."

""You? Can you speak Bambara?"

""Certainly. Just listen to this: "Dfi lokho a bé na'."

""Whatever's that gibberish?"

""That means 'I'm thirsty.' And 'I dou, nono i mita.'"

""I swear . . . nono . . . mita."

""That means, 'Come in, I'll give you some milk.'" - p 53

How many other French novels at the time had Bambara parts in them?! I offer my sincere & deep respect to Verne for this. Bambara is a language spoken in Mali. I actually have the pleasure of knowing a guy from Mali. He has a computer repair business in Pittsburgh. I asked him about the effects of French colonialism & whether there was resentment about it. He told me something to the effect that the French had left behind a pretty nice infrastructure.

Of course, no Verne hero is w/o 'their' servants (unless in distress): "The convoy, correctly so called, comes behind them. It consists of fifty donkeys led by twenty-five muleteers, of whom ten really belong to Mlle. Mornas and M. de St. Bérain. On the flanks are Captain Marcenay's cavalrymen. As for your humble servant, he makes it his humble task to canter along the column from one end to the other. / Tchoumouki and Tongané, Mlle Mornas' two servants, form the rearguard." - p 62

I have no idea how common cannibalism was in the late 19th & early 20th century in Africa. Verne seems to think it was quite common (both here & in The Village In The Treetops - see my review here: http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/332108-the-village-in-the-treetops-review ):

""Me make it fine stew with sadé (lamb)," he tells us, "tender as a baby."

"Tender as a baby! That comparison makes our flesh creep. Has Moriliré ever tasted human flesh, we wonder? We ask him. He tells us, in rather hypocritical terms, that he's never eaten it himself, but he's heard its exquisite savour praised highly. H'm!" - p 67

Common or not, cannibalism makes for an exciting story, eh? But, actually, there's no cannibalism, except in allusion, in this. & Moriliré turns out to be a bad guy.

I'm pleased w/ the ongoing use of Bambara: ""Allah ma toula kendé," they say, touching their foreheads with their right hands. "Karo koutayé." ("God has been good to us; we can see the new moon.")" (p 69) Not that I wd know whether it's accurate or even authentic - I reckon I trust Verne.

While there isn't any cannibalism, there IS slavery. I've always found it odd that people act like the Americans & the British were the only big bad slavers in the world & as if the Africans were just these poor victims. It seems to be much more realistic that the Africans have their own long history of slavery wch persists to the recent past if not to this day (see Mauritania, eg).

"Moriliré tells her that a young Negress, the servant of a farmer of the same colour who's away just now, is offering her hospitality in a hut. This is quite clean and - unlikely as it seems - is furnished with a bedstead of European type.

""You give money," the guide adds. "This good!"

"Mlle Mornas accepts the proffered hospitality and we escort her ceremonially to her new lodging. There the promised servant is waiting for us. She is standing near one of the trees. She is a girl of middling height, aged about fifteen, and not at all ugly. As she had no clothing except a simple leaf which plainly came neither from the Louvre nor from the Bon Marché but perhaps from the Magasin du Printemps as St. Bérain cheerfully suggests, she looks like a fine statue in black marble." - p 71

"The little black servant is stretched on the ground near the threshold of the hut. her back is marked, zebra-fashion, with red weals, and the poor child is sobbing to break one's heart.

"Before her, and protecting her with her body, Mlle Mornas - really superb when she loses her temper - is holding at bay a huge Negro who, a few steps away, is making horrible grimaces and who is still grasping a blood-dappled stick. We ask for an explanation.

""Just think of it," Mlle Mornas tells us, "I had hardly gone to bed. Malik - the little Negress is called Malik - was fanning me and I was just dropping off. Then here comes this big brute, her master, coming home unexpectedly. As soon as he sees me he flies into a rage, drags the poor child out, and starts beating her unmercifully to teach her to bring white people into his hut!"" - p 72

Ha ha! I'm sure a Frenchman, returning from work & finding 'his' servant fanning a black person in his bed wdn't flip out? (NOT)

"While the discussion proceeds, Mlle Mornas has lifted Malik to her feet and is dressing her wounds with Karité butter. [Uh oh, she's using butter! Is Mornas going to eat Malik?!] The bargain made, she leads her to our camp, dresses her in a white blouse, and puts a few coins in her hand.

""Now," she says, "you're not a slave any longer. I set you free."

"But Malik bursts into sobs. She says she is alone and she doesn't want to leave "so good a white lady." She will be her chambermaid and will serve her faithfully until she dies. She weeps, she implores.

""Keep her, little girl," St. Bérain puts in. "You'll certainly find her usefull. She'll render the thousand little services which a woman always needs [..]"" - p 73

Seems like more than a bit of a self-serving fable to me, but I reckon it's possible. The narrator is usually a French reporter named Amédée Florence. He writes: "The 2nd December we strike camp at five in the morning, and our column, now larger by a unit - or rather should I say by half a unit, for one white is worth two blacks? - gets on the march." (p 74) So what's Verne doing here? After the heroic rescue of the slave he has the now-willing-servant 'devalued' to being a half-human in contrast to a white. Is Verne just being realistic in his depiction of racist 'values'? Or does he share them? It's ambiguous. But by the next page in Florence's article, he has the reporter write: "They have absurd names, these villages: Fongoumbi, Manfourou, Kafou, Ouossou, etc. I give it up. Can't they call themselves Neuilly or Levallois like everybody else?" (p 75) THAT seems like a flagrant parody of French chauvinism.

Verne has Florence & Barsac be sympathetic characters &, given that Barsac's agitating for equal voting rights for the black Africans, Barsac is even potentially an anti-racist hero. HOWEVER, these sympathetic characters are hardly flawless - so maybe, again, it's Verne's realism w/ a little parody thrown in. More from Florence:

"these blacks, about ten in number, are traders and witchdoctors who have no hostile intentions and simply want to sell us their produce and to entertain us.

""Lock up the silver!" M. Barsac suggests humorously, "and show them into the dining room!"

"So the blacks are shown in, each more ugly and more sordid than the others. Among them are craftsmen, masters of thirty-six trades, makers of pottery, trinkets, baskets, objects in wood or iron; and vendors of weapons, fabrics and especially Kola nuts, of which we lay in an ample store."

[..]

"These troubadours from Negro-land are two in number. The first holds a guitar. What a guitar! . . . Imagine a calabash crossed lengthwise by three shoots of bamboo each provided with a catgut string." - p 77

Now what's the 'reporter' really describing here? Is it a kora? It might be. Is this a parody of the French reporter's ignorance? if so, wd early 20th century French readers have understood this?

The travelers are talked into visiting a fortune-teller (Kéniélala) by the treacherous Moriliré:

"He begins by piling up in front of him a heap of very fine sand, which he spreads out fan-wise by one movement of a little broom. Then he asks us for a dozen Kola nuts, half red and half white, which he moves rapidly over the sand while babbling incomprehensible words; then, setting them out on the sand in several figures, circles, squares, diamonds, rectangles, triangles, and so forth, he males strange gestures above them as though he were blessing them. At last he collects them carefully and holds out his dirty hands in which we place the consultation fee." - p 100

I find this interesting. I wonder how accurate of a description this is & I wonder about the ideas behind the ceremony.

Florence's racism proceeds apace. He uses words like "darkies" (p 120) & "ugly little piccaninny" (p 134), or, at least the British translator does (I don't know what Verne's original words wd've been), & somewhat casually mentions a proposed plan to make the porters march under threat of death. (pp 120-121) But, then, he questions this: "As for the natives, how can we possibly compel them? What's to be done if they lie down, if they resist us only with the force of inertia? Shooting them would be a very poor means of making sure of their services!" (p 121) The Eurocentrism goes largely unquestioned: "Isn't it clear that the further East we go, which means the further from the sea, the less contact the natives have had with Europeans, and so their veneer of civilization (?) will wear thinner and thinner." (p 121) This being the reporter's logic against voting rights for the black Africans. But, then, why does Florence interpolate the question-mark after "civilization"?

Racism aside, there's really much, MUCH more to this (pair of) novel(s). Termites & their dwellings fascinate me. W/ this in mind, I was interested in this:

"11th February. Early this morning, we came into the midst of cultivated fields, showing that a village is near. These fields would be fairly well kept up were not so much of them devastated by termites, which are terribly destructive.

[Not as terribly so as humans daddio!]

"These insects build mushroom-shaped termitaries, sometimes the height of a man [ie: their 'high-rises'], and at the beginning of winter they leave them like winged ants. then they infest the villages. But the people never lose a chance of amusing themselves. The appearance of these winged ants is the signal for feasts and nameless orgies. Fires are lighted, and on these the ants singe their wings. The women and children collect them and fry them in Cé butter. Then it's not enough to eat. the people must drink. So, when evening comes, the whole village is drunk." - pp 132-133

As w/ other novels I've read by Verne, there're parts where the solution to certain mysteries is painfully obvious to the reader but completely opaque to the characters. It's hard to say whether Verne was using this as a device to make the reader feel smarter & tensely engaged w/ waiting for the characters to figure out the obvious OR whether Verne's readership at the time of writing wdn't've found these things as obvious as I do a century later.

As the 1st of these 2 novels reaches its end, the characters are taking stock of the difficulties that have befallen them. Barsac concludes that their hidden enemies haven't really done anything that bad. The Dr. points out that they bayonetted their black guide & left him for dead.

""There's Tongané," Dr. Chatonnay pointed out gently.

""Tongané is a Negro," Barsac replied, "and for many people the life of a Negro doesn't count."

So does it count for Barsac the voting crusader or not?! ( )
  tENTATIVELY | Apr 3, 2022 |
inga recensioner | lägg till en recension

» Lägg till fler författare (5 möjliga)

Författarens namnRollTyp av författareVerk?Status
Verne, JulesFörfattareprimär författarealla utgåvorbekräftat
Verne, MichelFörfattarehuvudförfattarealla utgåvorbekräftat
Evans, I. O.Översättaremedförfattarevissa utgåvorbekräftat
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