The author’s third novel published in 2023 by Les Lettres Mouchetées, the book takes readers to the Republic of Congo in the 1960s with the upheavals of a booming city, epicenter of a newly independent country as a backdrop. . Inspired by real events, it highlights three characters, namely Kaya, the psychoanalyst who welcomes the most important figures of the city, Massolo the governess, a beautiful seductress, manipulable and Ibogo, the idealistic student who becomes a militiaman thirsty for blood.
The Congolese are independent, and this independence leads to behaviors and anxieties that are difficult to admit, except in the privacy of the psychoanalyst’s office imagined by the author. “What interested me was to understand what was going on in their heads and I thought that the psychoanalyst, in any case his couch, was the best place allowing the freedom of speech », We can read on Radio France Internationale.
The originality of the text and its great literary quality were praised by the president of the jury, Véronique Tadjo. “ Dibakana Mankessi demonstrated great literary ambition in this very ingenious novel supported by very beautiful writing “, she affirmed. Adding “ The Orange Africa Prize aims to make African literature even more visible and celebrate the diverse talents on the continent. “.
For his part, Dibakana Mankessi felt moved and proud to win this prize which constitutes a sign of recognition for the work he provided throughout the creative process, and expressed his wish to be able to popularize it in order to encourage reading Africa: “I think that writing is about sharing, and through this novel I want to share with others my vision of things and the world in general”. He also praised Morocco for the successful organization of Siel which promotes books and reading, as well as the Orange foundation for this prize thanks to which African literature is highlighted internationally.
Remember that Dibakana Mankessi was in competition with four other African writers including Hamel Mouba (Tunisia) for his novel “Siqal the anchor of the ogress”, Angelo Byock (Cameroon) “Percussions Cameroun”, Meryem Sellami (Tunisia) “Je Jalouse the southern breeze on your face” and Hary Rabary (Madagascar) who wrote Zakoa. Essayist and novelist, Dibakana Mankessi, originally from Congo-Brazzaville, is the author of several works (novels, short stories and essays). He teaches sociology and works for a public institution in the Paris region.
