Remembering Maryse Condé: 3 Books You Need to Read from the Literary Great
Maryse Condé was honored in a national tribute on April 15, 2024 (right) and in a French national daily newspaper, Libération, entitled “Maryse Condé, the independent one.”
written by Yasmina Victor-Bihary
Renowned writer Maryse Condé passed away on April 2, 2024 at the age of 90. Born as Maryse Boucolon in 1934 in Guadeloupe, she leaves behind a rich literary legacy. Condé was a globetrotter who lived in Africa, France and taught at New York’s Columbia University.
In 2018, Condé won the Alternative Nobel Prize in Literature. Her books often highlighted Caribbean womanhood, the French Caribbean diaspora and conjured images of old-world beauty in the region.
French President Emmanuel Macron described her as "A literary giant, Maryse Condé paints a picture of sorrow and hope, from Guadalupe to Africa, from the Caribbean to Provence. In a language of struggle and splendor, unique and universal.”
French President Emmanuel Macron on Maryse Condé in a moment of remembrance
In remembrance of the literary great I’ve curated a short list of three book recommendations.
1.Tales From the Heart: True Stories From my Childhood
If there was one book to read from Condé’s works, it would be “Tales from the Heart: True Stories from my Childhood.” It was the first book I read from Condé and I often re-read it to the point its well-thumbed curled pages forced me to buy a new version.
The autobiography is a journey in Guadeloupe in the 1950s. The reader stumbles on beautiful descriptions of old Paris, where Condé started her studies. It’s an evolutive self-portrait of Condé and her family, which set the tone of the writer and woman she would become.
Condé’s writing style is lucid, honest and uncompromising, yet she takes the reader on a journey in which they are amazed by the romance of it all. The story conjures images of rustic Pointe-à-Pitre, one of the major cities in Guadeloupe. Her writing makes the reader feel as if they discovered the city through her eyes. As someone who grew up in Pointe-a-Pitre, it was nostalgic yet a visual oasis rediscovering a city I already know.
[Additional Read: Love, Trial and Tribulation: Sophie Jai’s ‘WILD FIRES’ is the Story of Many Caribbean Families]
2. Victoire: My Mother's Mother
Rendezvous in the kitchen with “Victoire: My Mother’s Mother.” A tribute to her ancestry, cooking and writing mean the same for Condé and you can easily grasp where she draws upon for inspiration. Another non-fiction masterpiece in which Condé, unsurprisingly, portrays her grandmother, Victoire. It’s a touching story where the reader can literally savor words as the writer doesn’t overlook details. Condé carefully crafts the details of each dish. In this tribute to her grandmother, the Guadeloupean writer explores her family history and highlights her special legacy made of rich smells and tastes. Condé’s granny was illiterate and cooking was her greatest form of expression. I do think that a lot of us can identify with this book by recognizing our Caribbean grandmothers in Victoire.
3. Of Morsels and Marvels
“Of Morsels and Marvels” builds on the momentum created in “Victoire: My Mother’s Mother.” A personal exploration between cooking and literature, Condé embarks on a journey through her kitchen, in a more intimate way. She connects the dots between the ease of preparing dishes and her writing. It’s a culinary and literary odyssey where she tells anecdotes and true stories about her life and the fact that she has a love of hosting over good food. Savoring cultural and family dishes along with her global travels to India, Indonesia and South Africa is fused within its pages. “Of Morsels and Marvels” is a culmination of beautiful imagery, savory dishes and fused into unique storytelling.
“Of Morsels and Marvels” (French edition)
Bonus:
A friend of mine recommended “La vie sans fards” (Life without makeup) which is next on my book list. In this non-fiction work, Condé writes in a deeply honest style. She offers thoughts and conclusions she draws from her personal experience, questioning and exploring her role as a mother and her quest for happiness and love. She also takes a look back at the beginnings of her career path and her vocation as a writer. Condé describes this book as “the most universal” of her literary works.
“You need to consider ‘La vie sans fards’ as an attempt to speak my truth, to reject myths and the flattering and easy idealizations”, Condé said.
There are more literary gems to discover among Condé’s published works. This personal selection is intended to be a starting point for a body of excellent literary works. Since her recent death the president of Guadeloupe regional council, Ary Chalus, and other local representatives will commemorate her by renaming Guadeloupe Pole Caraibes airport after her. This idea of renaming the airport is not new. It was suggested by Max Rippon in 2018, a writer who originated from the island of Marie-Galante, where Conde’s mother was born.
Conde’s books can be purchased on Amazon.
