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Loading... Aya of Yop Cityby Marguerite Abouet, Clément Oubrerie (Illustrator)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. I like these looks at ordinary life in different cultures, even of there's not much of a story. ( ) This second in a graphic novel series about three best friends in a prosperous town of Cote D'Ivoire in Africa is set in the '70s during prosperous times and the rise of the middle class. Aya would like to become a doctor; best friends Adjoua has had a child but her fiance's family doubts that he is the father; and Bintou is enamored with a Parisian man who may not be as wealthy as he looks. The men are mostly ridiculous and the women heroic. It's exotic yet familiar, with compelling illustrations and salty talk. There's an in depth interview with the author at the end. Totally enjoyable! The story begins with big company boss Mr. Sissoko giving an ultimatum to (Aya's friend) Adjoua's parent's to prove her newborn's son paternity within a week, as he looks nothing like his son Moussa and strangely a lot like Mamadou, an attractive, but irredeemable flirt who's been hanging around all of Aya's friends. Meanwhile, Aya's other friend Bintou falls for the suspicious charms of Grégoire, a local just arrived from his stay in Paris, where he claims to have made a fortune and is now back home staying in a luxury hotel, allegedly to find a wife with proper values. Adjoua's brother Albert has secret meetings at night in the "Hotel Under the Stars" with a mystery woman. Meanwhile all the girls in town are excited about the upcoming Miss Yopougon contest, to which seemingly every girl wants to participate except of course Aya, and her father has a huge and not necessarily happy surprise for the whole family. no reviews | add a review
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"For the residents of Yopougon, everyday life is good. It is the early 1970s, a golden time work is plentiful, hospitals are clean and well equipped, and school is obligatory. The Ivory Coast is as an island of relative wealth and stability in West Africa. For the teenagers of the town, though, worries are plentiful, and life in Yop City is far from simple. Aya tells the story of its nineteen-year-old heroine, the clear-sighted and bookish Aya, and her carefree and fun-loving friends Adjoua and Bintou. Navigating meddling relatives and neighbours, the girls spend a last summer of their childhood on the sun-warmed streets of Yop City sneaking out for dancing at open-air bars, strong solibra beer, chicken in peanut sauce and avoiding at all costs the scandal pages of the Calamity Morning . Aya is a captivating, colourful and hugely entertaining portrayal of an Africa we rarely see, spirited and resilient, and full of the sounds, sights and smells of a prosperous town and its varied inhabitants." No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)741.5944The arts Graphic arts and decorative arts Drawing & drawings Cartoons, Caricatures, Comics Collections European France & MonacoLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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