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Texaco
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I finished this book a week ago and highly recommend it. I gained an understanding of what life was like from colonial times until the 90s. The author has created some memorable characters, especially Marie-Sophie and her father.
I'm really struggling with this book. It's taking me literally months. The French original writing is probably way better than the English translation. But I do enjoy learning about Martinique's history and how its society and material reality changed over time.
I read it in French. I can see that it would lose a lot in translation.
About the Book
The novel presents a historical and personal perspective of Texaco, a shantytown suburb just outside Martinique's capital Fort-de-France. The main narrative of the story is told through the voice of Marie-Sophie Laborieux, daughter of a freed slave, who recounts her family history from the beginning of the 1820s through to the late 20th century. These recollections of her history draw both on her personal memory and the stories told to her by her father. The accounts begin after a man called Christ – an employee of the urban services bureau tasked to rationalize the shantytown of Texaco – is sent to Marie-Sophie. In describing his impact on her community, Marie-Sophie refers to Christ as "one of the riders of our apocalypse" and "the angel of destruction".
Texaco follows a non-linear plot line, with Marie-Sophie's personal narrative providing an account of history viewed from the perspective of her family. As Marie-Sophie puts it: "I began to tell him the story of our Quarter and of our conquest of the City, to speak in the name of us all, pleading our cause, telling my life." In addition to this complex story arrangement, Chamoiseau weaves in brief excerpts from notebooks, journals and letters. These small sections, which provide a historical context to the island of Martinique, are attributed to journals written by Marie-Sophie in the mid-1960s, as well as passages from a book called The Urban Planner's Notes to the World Scratcher. The book was awarded the Prix Goncourt in 1992.
About the Author
Patrick Chamoiseau is a French author from Martinique known for his work in the créolité movement. His work spans a variety of forms and genres, including novels, essays, children's books, screenplays, theatre and comics. His novel Texaco was awarded the Prix Goncourt in 1992.