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Tatouages by Claudine Potvin (review)

but does not know if the father of her child is the fiancé who has abandoned her or her rapist. Abortion seems to be her only solution. The second part of the novel concentrates on how Fortuane pieces her life back together again after these events and the story becomes even more poignant when her abducted sister is found alive with four children resulting from multiple rapes by her captors. This is also a particularly well written part of the novel in terms of character development. Fortuane pursues her education despite what has befallen her and her family. She eventually accepts an internship in New York City where her supervisor falls in love with her and the feelings are eventually reciprocated. This third part of the novel seems at times a bit too forced and some readers might be left with the conclusion that Fortuane could not make a life for herself anywhere in Foutapouat, neither in city nor village. But despite this ending, this novel has numerous qualities and in many ways, tremendous originality. Ngou is a talented author who has played an essential role in the development of Gabonese literature over the years. Out of Ngou’s three novels, it is perhaps in this most recent one that she shows exceptionally symbolic and poetic prose which is an absolute delight for the reader, even if Ngou is taking on very grim subjects. Although sexual violence is at the center of the novel, her writing is not graphic and the reader is moved instead by the power of Ngou’s words. There is much to be explored in this novel for both students and researchers alike and one would expect nothing less from a major African Francophone feminist writer like Ngou. Cheryl Toman Case Western Reserve University