Alain Mabanckou

Alain Mabanckou was born in 1966 in the Congo. He currently lives in Los Angeles, where he teaches literature at UCLA. The author of several novels as well as six books of poetry, he received the Subsaharan African Literature Prize for Blue-White-Red and the Prix Renaudot for Memoirs of a Porcupine. Winner of the Prix Renaudot, France's equal to the National Book Award, Alain Mabanckou is considered one of the most talented writers today. He was selected by the French journal Lire as one of fifty writers to watch this coming century. And as Peter Carey suggests, he "positions himself at the margins, tapping the tradition founded by Celine, Genet, and other subversive writers." In this superb and striking story, Mabanckou brings new power to magical realism, and is sure to excite American audiences nationwide.