GRANDPA & ME: A Conversation with Myself: A Novel

By Fode Doumbia

Author Fod? Doumbia is a Senegalese teacher and soccer coach living n Salt Lake City, Utah. Using life experiences as a spring board, he created the story of a Senegalese man, also a teacher, living in the Central Valley of California who is visited by his grandfather who himself used to be a teacher and a coach. Now, Grandpa is retired and lives in Senegal but this summer he comes and visits his grandchildren: the narrator and his cousin Malick who lives in Atlanta.Discussions with different people allow the narrator and his grandpa to tackle a variety of topics such as politics, education, racism, arranged marriage, homosexuality, tradition and even sports. Throughout the book, we witness a clash between modern and traditional cultures, we can also smell the American and Senegalese aromas that the conversations exhibit.Grandpa has raised both Malick and the narrator but Malick is gay and cannot reveal it to Grandpa for fear of hurting his feelings. Consequently, Malick is very uncomfortable around Grandpa. He asks his cousin, the narrator, to tell Grandpa the truth. The narrator first convinces Grandpa that being gay is not a "crime" then informs him about Malick. A truth that Grandpa has a hard time accepting but in the end he accepts the reality.To reward his grandson for being a good family member, Grandpa decides to tell him the story of his life. Grandpa tells of his life story just like the West African griot, without being interrupted. The sequence of the life story is an opportunity to visit some traditional African cultures and customs.Grandpa also asks the narrator to tell him why he has chosen to live in that remote part of California. His Grandson then decides to record his story, which is the continuation of Grandpa's, just after Grandpa's. In order to help Grandpa better understand his cousin Malick, the narrator and his friend Gaynako who lives in the Bay area decide to take Grandpa to the Castro in San Francisco. At a gay bar they meet a gay man from Senegal who, in Wolof, their common language, tells them about the very moving story of his life. That really takes Grandpa's position towards homosexuality to another level; he wants to go back to Senegal and advocate for homosexuality. The narrator is now concerned about Grandpa's safety in a country where homosexuality is not tolerated by the majority.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1790665051
• ISBN13: 9781790665051
• Release Date: November 2016
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 184 Pages
• Weight: 0.74 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.5" x 6.0"