French Literature Reviews - 2026

A. Zigoli, The Art of the Short Story in Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa
Francophone and Oral Literatures

Antonin Zigoli, The Art of the Short Story in Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa

Paris: L'Harmattan, 2019.

262 p.

EAN 9782343150017

27,00 EUR

Publisher's Description:

The short story in Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa exhibits two main trends in terms of its characterization. The first trend aligns with the Western short story in terms of writing style, forms, and genres. However, this alignment is not absolute: elements of oral tradition, as well as the unique treatment of characters and settings, represent distinct practices among Francophone Sub-Saharan African short story writers. The second trend is characterized by a formal break from the first. Much like the New Novelists, second-generation African authors innovate within the short story genre, introducing various elements that define it independently of Western traditions.

Antonin Zigoli holds a PhD obtained in 2006 from the Félix-Houphouët-Boigny University in Abidjan-Cocody, where he teaches the African novel, narratology, and narrative semiotics in the Department of Modern Literature. He is the author of several articles on the short story published in national and international journals.

Antonin Zigoli places his study within the broader academic discourse on postcolonial literature, narrative theory, and comparative literature. By examining how second-generation African authors depart from classical models—much like the French New Novelists—the book engages with questions of stylistic autonomy and cultural identity. The author draws on his expertise in narratology and narrative semiotics to dissect the formal structures that distinguish African prose from Western literary traditions, offering a meticulous breakdown of characterization, setting, and generic hybridity.

This scholarly volume will prove especially useful for researchers, graduate students, and literature enthusiasts interested in Francophone studies, African cultural production, and the poetics of short fiction. It provides valuable critical tools for understanding how contemporary writers negotiate the legacy of oral storytelling alongside modern literary experimentation. Readers seeking a rigorous academic analysis of stylistic trends and narrative strategies in modern African literature will find this work an illuminating guide.