God's Bits of Wood by Sembene Ousman

Summary

After World War Two, in French West Africa, African natives who had been hired to work on the Dakar-Niger railway formed a union and went on strike, demanding pay equal to their white coworkers, back pay for the years they worked at lower wages, family allowances, and pensions.

The executives of the Dakar-Niger railway rejected all their demands.

This novel is about that months-long strike and the ultimate victory of the African Worker's Union.

On the first day of the strike, thousands of the workers assemble near one of the stations, and women and merchants gather around them, either curious, or hoping to sell them something. The army arrives to dispel the crowd and disorder breaks out, at the end of the day eight strikers have been killed, countless have been injured, hundreds of bystanders, including women and babies have been killed and wounded, and one soldier has been killed.

And then the railroad company cuts off the water supply to the cities along the railroad.

That clash sets the tone for the rest of the book. There's lots of bloodshed, outright murder, and politics.

What I liked

The story made me angry, I sympathized with the strikers. It was moving. Also, the story was well told, written from the perspective of dozens of characters, each with a different role in the strike.

What I didn't like

The book is a translation of the French novel. It's a good translation, well done and easy enough to read.

However, the writing becomes a bit cumbersome. It's hard to keep track of all the characters. There are jokes that are difficult to understand, without knowing the language.

Aside from that, though, the story is compelling and worth reading.

Conclusion

Interested in Africa? Read this book. Sembene Ousman is known as a militant artist, (think Che with a typewriter). This book demonstrates his passion and love for his people and his empathy with their suffering. 4.9/5 babies named Strike.