French Literature Reviews - 2026

É. Essono Tsimi, Les inadmirables. Essai sur l'art (forcément) peu subtil de la bêtise
Other Literary Studies

A growing number of publications have been turning their attention to human stupidity. These studies have predominantly been conducted by Western intellectuals, who often associate stupidity with prosperity and consumer society. This book examines the concept of "radical stupidity" in the African context, translating what were previously viewed as pathological diagnoses into cultural terms.

The author delves deeply into the works of such literary figures as Pepetela, Chinua Achebe, Mohammed Mbougar Sarr, and Achille Ngoye, exploring the problematics of embarrassment, a refusal to understand, a lack of meaning, and a propensity for sneering. Essono Tsimi’s sharp social critique and rigorous cultural analysis challenge and invigorate conventional frameworks for reading sub-Saharan societies, shaped as they are by diaspora and rich in intersectional influences.

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Éric Essono Tsimi, writer and lecturer-researcher at The City University of New York (Baruch College), is an associate member of LARPsyDIS (Research Laboratory in Psychology of Intra- and Intersubjective Dynamics) at the University of Lausanne. His notable publications include L’antiracisme rend-il heureux ? (Hermann, 2022) and De quoi la littérature africaine est-elle la littérature ? (Les Presses de l’Université de Montréal, 2022).

The study of human stupidity has long been a subject of inquiry within Western intellectual traditions, where it is frequently linked to the conditions of consumerism and modern prosperity. By shifting this focus to the African context, the author reinterprets the notion of stupidity, moving away from purely pathological or clinical diagnoses toward a framework rooted in cultural analysis. This transition allows for an examination of how intellectual and social behaviors manifest within societies, reflecting broader debates about the intersection of cultural identity and the critique of contemporary social behaviors.

By engaging with the writings of figures such as Pepetela, Chinua Achebe, Mohammed Mbougar Sarr, and Achille Ngoye, the text investigates the thematic presence of embarrassment, the refusal to understand, a lack of meaning, and a propensity for sneering. These elements are situated within the realities of sub-Saharan societies, which are shaped by the diaspora and intersectional influences. Readers interested in the evolution of critical perspectives on African literature and the sociological dimensions of cultural critique may find this exploration of radical stupidity and its literary representations relevant to their interests.