If it were as simple as leaving the devil over ‘there’ and allowing it to remain where it is, exploration of foreign lands would not exist.
Societies in general are complex, and to a noticeable extent, forcibly enmeshed, because differences, although appreciated, often expose shadowed ghosts. This is especially true when displacement results in homogenous environments becoming more diverse.
If violence isn’t the answer, bullying should be punishable, and because it isn’t, retaliation shouldn’t be surprising. With intensity, readers are introduced to Salomé Atabong, a mixed-race Dutch girl of Cameroonian descent. A high-achieving student at a private school, she is further stripped of agency when sentenced to detention at a juvenile facility.
An English translation, Confrontations, addresses intergenerational trauma caused by race-based alienation and gender-based injustice. Set in circular surroundings, it’s a coming-of-age story that critiques structural violence and the support systems that allow it to escalate when aimed at girls and women.
Written in lyrical prose by Simone Atangan Bekono, it offers an unfiltered exploration of how silence functions as a form of criminalization and how violence acts as a reflexive act of resistance. This title will challenge those who deny the existence of institutionalized microaggressions.
Structured mainly as a non-linear, present-tense internal dialogue, the author employs a reflective tone to evoke a sense of isolation, uses bold images to symbolize freedom and assimilation, applies achromatic colors to express resilience and trauma, and metaphorically portrays isolated natural environments as the body politic responsible for enacting harmful immigration policies.
With less emphasis on teen angst, this work offers an intimate look into juvenile incarceration as a clear example of disposability, and readers will identify alienation and marginalization as forms of tactical oppression. Unique in its stream-of-consciousness presentation of rational anger, it also accurately depicts systemic attacks against women of color.
Reframing anger as agency and reclaiming space, this honest critique of structural sexism also redefines violence as the absurdity linked to refusing to see racialization as supremacist behavior.
An impactful and emotionally raw depiction of institutional indifference, readers prone to misinterpreting their contributions to reactive rage, and others doubtful of the impact of racism on personal identity will not find an embedded social justice message in this work.
Dense yet broad, readers unfamiliar with stylistically disruptive character arcs or those seeking neatly resolved problems might feel restricted. Conversely, those craving realist fiction and others driven by indignation and defiance will breeze through this 179-page debut.
Rating: ★★★★★+
Similar titles:
Exploring police/state violence: The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas
With emotionally raw narration of trauma and race: Push, by Sapphire
With young women navigating alienation: Binti, by Nnedi Okorafor -and- Girl, Woman, Other, by Bernardine Evaristo
Now this, sounds interesting 👀
Amazing read 👏🏽