Loin de mon père de Véronique Tadjo : la transformation du biographique en fiction porteuse d’espoir$^1$

Abstract

Véronique Tadjo’s novel Loin de mon père seems to continue the author’s constant involvement in contemporary Africa, but in a more personal mode. Taking its cue from the first epigraph to the novel, this article strives to determine how biographical elements, including those revealed in the épitexte, and true facts are reworked into a fictitious account of a woman’s return to her country after her father’s death. It is argued that the epigraphs prepare the reader for the exploration of an in-between space, which consequently becomes a structuring principal for the configuration of the characters and the development of the intrigue. Furthermore the study points out that Tadjo bases Loin de mon père on two important African traditions, i. e. the prolonged funeral and polygamy. The conclusion, attempting to define what the intention behind the novel is, points out how Tadjo transformed her own experience into a fiction in order to convey a message of reconstruction and hope.