The Story of the Madman
- Binding: Hardcover
- Publisher: Univ of Virginia Pr
- Publish date: 09/01/2001
Translated here as The Story of the Madman, the novel gives the English-speaking world Beti's comic satire of the fictional Chief Zoaeteleu and his favorite sons Zoaetoa and Narcisse. In a modern fable that Beti uses to illustrate the problems of a people's disintegrating values in a postcolonial state, Chief Zoaeteleu, a puppet under two dictatorial regimes, is swept into the frontline of politics, where his fortunes unravel. Along with his caustic portrayal of failed government -- clearly a reflection of his native Cameroon -- Beti's realism provides an intriguing view of the struggle for balance between traditional life and imminent change in African culture.