Would you like to offer some reading?

Here is a selection to please yourself or the young and old around you. Books to play, dream, wonder, marvel and, sometimes, travel in time in our latitudes.

Youth

Santa’s adventures in Guyana by Patricia Chauviré and Céline Borget (Orphie editions)
Distribute gifts by rocket, write a letter to little gardeners, make the animals dream of a Christmas for them too, share the traditions of the river communities, travel incognito by bike, look for his friend the polar bear… Santa Claus has a thousand and one ideas for traveling around Guyana. His journey is an opportunity to walk between river and forest throughout the department. Cherry on the cake : the little reader will be able to sing the song “Petit Papa Noël” revisited for each story.

Considered by Aesop that John of Lafontainen was in Guyana by Nadine Léo (Orphie editions)

Involved in Creole culture, particularly through her songs and the tales she tells, Nadine Léo revisits the fables of Aesop and Jean de Lafontaine. To prolong the magic, and because the tale is heard more than read, the author has integrated QR codes into the book. By flashing them, the reader finds the story told by Nadine Léo, to drum rhythms. Something to delight young and old alike who will appreciate both the originality and musicality of the stories.

The Tales of Ti-Couachi by Pierre Stephenson (Orphie editions)

After three collections of fables, Pierre Appolinaire Stephenson continues his exploration of the oral tradition of tales of his country, whose main virtues are moral, educational and universal, through stories of imaginary, often marvelous adventures. The author continues to feature characters well known to Guyanese people, adding new ones, just as fabulous. He depicts the landscapes of his region and surprises the reader through these 18 facetious and tender stories.

Listen to the animals of Guyana by Waf and Vayounette (Plume Verte editions)

For little ones, there’s nothing like the mixture of image and sound. Listen to the animals of Guyana is a rigid mini-format to put in little hands to discover five animals of Guyana through texts, images and audio. A gift that always pleases.

What’s new

Coconut heart of the soul by Nicole Perfect (Orphie editions)

Successively publishing director of a weekly, editor and author, Nicole Perfect is a trainer and speaker on the fight against illiteracy. With Coconut heart of the soulshe delivers a novel that she describes as “conscious, served in a context of Creole culture as it is experienced with its share of funny and sometimes dramatic situations”. The story: Liane clings to memories and intertwines her memory with those of those around her, in an intimate story, an act of resistance, a form of reparation and certainly a source of inspiration. Manlise, Dorina, Isidore, Eulalie… So many first names and stories that tell the story of Guyana. Coconut heart of the soul is a committed novel, which talks about women, their courage and their will.

Miyò ralé to kannon by Nilaja FJ Ousénie (editions du Mahury)

First collection of short stories entirely in Guyanese Creole, Mine burned in the cannon is followed by a compilation of poems. With humor, Françoise James Ousénie, who signs here Nilaja FJ Ousénie, explores the human and social realities of Guyana. Accessible to those who have mastered reading Guyanese Creole, the work should also appeal to Creole speakers who will discover here the pleasure of reading and the beauty of words.

The story zoom by Rémy Péru-Dumesnil (Ibis Rouge editions)

Imagined by journalists Victor Zammit and Florian Royer, the Zoom story will be launched in January 2023 on Radio Péyi. In an offbeat tone, Rémy Péru-Dumesnil, writing, and Florian Royer, editing, offer listeners a modern and accessible vision of Guyanese history and, more broadly, the American continent. The tone and freshness of the first two seasons, to which is added a colorful soundscape, made the authors want to transpose their work into writing. The objective is always the same: to approach a seemingly complex subject with humor and to highlight the stories “as hair-raising as they are tragic” that the continent is full of.

My Guyanity by Jacques Chinon (Rymanay editions)

This year, the former boxer, champion of France in 1982, received the Panamazonian prize. Created in 2019, this literary prize aims to “ offer a space for expression, visibility, promotion of literature », according to Rymanay editions which put it in place. For this second edition, Jacques Chinon distinguished himself with his novel My Guyanity, « a romantic journey and a shareable reflection around the use of Creole in everyday life.”

Hold on by Léon Bertrand (Orphie editions)

Mayor of Saint-Laurent du Maroni from 1983 to 2018, general councilor, deputy, regional councilor, Minister of Tourism from 2002 to 2007 under the presidency of Jacques Chirac… Léon Bertrand has a long political career. With Francine George, editor of Bat’Carré magazine in Reunion, he retraces his exceptional trajectory in a long interview. The expression “ hold on » sums up in two words his attitude towards the difficulties which punctuate his journey, whether political, administrative or judicial. Interspersed with portraits, scenes of life and questions, the work reveals the complexity of the Guyanese soul and the charm of the country.

Nengue, the forgotten history of the slaves of the Guianas by Samuel Figuières and Stéphane Blanco (Plume Verte editions)
The Plume Verte editions have reissued the comic Nengue, the forgotten history of the slaves of the Guianas. The birth and evolution of the Boni people are at the heart of the work by Stéphane Blanco and Samuel Figuière who adopts the point of view of Jules Crevaux. The latter, a French doctor, explored the Guiana plateau, helped by the guide Apatou, at the end of the 19th century. A good read, both historical and entertaining, that we already offered you during its very first publication.

One week story by Moïra Syl (self-publishing)

It’s a new concept that the author wanted to explore. : In One Week Story, every day is an episode. A way, for the author, to bring people who may be far away from it back to reading. Four stories follow one another. These are those of Cannelle, Luana, Leslie and Laurie who recount a week in their lives. Young, dreamers, ambitious, in love, they talk to each other from Monday to Sunday. And the least we can say is that things are happening in their lives in just one week.

Romantic smart box by Maïra Richards (self-publishing)

If you like reading feel good » and pretty love stories, you will love Maïra Richards’ first publication. Stories linked to Guyana, sometimes sweet like cinnamon, sometimes spicy like ginger. To be placed in knowledgeable hands.

The Tembe, culture and transmission, Francky Amete tells itself, by Joël Roy (editions du Mahury)

In a long interview, Joël Roy lets Francky Amete tell his story. Beyond the discovery of a Tembé artist, the work shows the vision and reflections of a man on his Businenge culture.

Essentials

Guyanas by Jean-Paul Delfino (Pocket editions)

Published in 2023 by Héloïse D’Ormesson, Guyanas by Jean-Paul Delfino was released in paperback a few months ago. In this flamboyant saga, the author takes us to the 19^th century. Three characters mix their destinies. Clara who in 1871, picked up from the barricades of the Commune in Paris and exiled to the women’s penal colony in Guyana at the age of 20. Mané, slave who fled Brazil thinking of winning his emancipation in French Guiana. Alphonse noble penniless, riddled with debt also finds himself in Guyana, determined to make a clean sweep of his past and lead a life under the palm trees. With Guyanes, Jean-Paul Delfino offers an intense historical novel : love, drama, adventure and suspense await the reader on every page.

Tempered souls by Marie-George Thébia (2023, Feedback editions)

Latest book by Marie-George Thébia, Âmes tembé takes us to Maripasoula, “ largest municipality in France ». Ici, stories and lives intertwine like the patterns of a tembé. When a corpse is discovered, the investigation that begins takes the reader down unknown paths. We meet teachers, gold miners, and a prostitute with a strong character. From improbable encounters to surprising twists and turns, the author takes her reader on a journey they will remember.

Wallace by Colin Niel (editions du Rouergue)

Author of a Guyanese series in four volumes, Colin Niel has taken an interest in childhood in danger in his last two novels. In DarwyneCarbet prize for high school students in 2024, the reader got to know Mathurine, an investigator at Child Welfare, passionate about the forest and torn by a desire for motherhood. Wallacereleased a few months ago, follows the same characters. Mother of a nine-year-old boy named Wallace, she remains haunted by the memory of Darwyne, the one she could not “ save “. The story, as always in Colin Niel’s works, takes us deep into the complexity of the human being and even further into the Guyanese forest which will reveal all its beauty, its magic and its power. For better and for worse.