There are stories that must be told just for the story itself, just for the story. This was one of them.

A historian called Bertha comes to Cameroon to speak to a 90-year-old woman, Sara, who was given to the sultan Njoya when she was only a small child, to be part of his harem. Rescued (sort of) by a woman called Bertha, Sara takes on the name of Bertha’s dead son Nebu. Mount Pleasant tells the story of the first Nebu and a little of the story of the second one, plus stories about sultan Njoya and paramount chief Charles Atangana and their families and Sara’s family and the fate of Art under the colonizers.

It’s a mad and speedy whirlwind of stories (and stories about stories), and even though my ignorance of Cameroonian history probably kept me from picking up on important elements of the book, it was still an absolutely fantastic read.

Gif rating:

2016 has been a wonderful year for African fiction, no? Is it just me? Am I just paying more attention to African literature these days? Or did all the campaigns to need more diverse books pay dividends at last?

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