A multi-layered narrative comprising a series of interwoven short stories and poetic texts which can be read within continental Africa, the African Diaspora and beyond. Tadjo imagines an African society on the brink of total collapse yet there is no doubt that the story resonates in unsettling ways with recent political and social unrest in Côte d’Ivoire. This is a narrative of devastating ideographic power from one of the most important voices in African writing today.