Patrick Chamoiseau, author of "Texaco" and "Chronicle of Seven Poor People," sketches in this autobiography his early childhood in Martinique. "Creole Childhood" is the story of an adult 'nikkertje,' as he calls himself. He tries to remember the life—the sounds, the smells, the taste: the feeling—that he lived in Fort-de-France forty years ago. The large family of Woman Ninotte, who worked around the clock, the father who was only present for lunch and dinner; the group of children in all shades of brown under the always leaking roof of the house groaning under hurricanes. The almost mystical world populated by the slaughtered pig for Christmas, the rabbits wandering around the house for the Sunday pot, the laying and slaughter chickens threatened by the army of rats, the people with the evil eye, the herbal women, the cockroaches, spiders, and biting flies, Tarzan and Tintin.
A Creole Childhood Series
This series delves into the depths of memory and identity formation within an exotic setting. It explores the complexities of family relationships and cultural encounters through a child's eyes. Readers can anticipate lyrical prose and profound emotions that paint a picture of childhood filled with discovery and challenges. It offers a perspective on the world that shaped an individual's formative years.
Patrick Chamoiseau esquisse dans cette autobiographie son enfance en Martinique. "Antan d'enfance" raconte l'histoire d'un 'nikkertje' devenu adulte, qui tente de se remémorer la vie - les sons, les odeurs, les goûts : les sensations - qu'il a vécue à Fort-de-France il y a quarante ans. Il évoque le grand foyer de Vrouw Ninotte, qui travaillait sans relâche, le père présent uniquement lors du punch de midi et du repas du soir, et la multitude d'enfants aux teintes brunes sous le toit toujours fuyant de la maison soumise aux ouragans. Ce monde presque mystique est peuplé de souvenirs : le cochon de Noël, les lapins errants pour le repas dominical, les poules menacées par les rats, les personnes avec le mauvais œil, les herboristes, ainsi que les cafards, les araignées et les mouches, sans oublier Tarzan et Tintin.