African Psycho.

Brooklyn, NY Soft Skull Press, 2007. Paperback First Edition (2007), unstated, in accordance with Soft Skull Press's customary practice. First published in France in 2003. First Edition (2007), unstated, in accordance with Soft Skull Press's customary practice. Very Good+ in Wraps: shows indications of very careful use: a crease at the middle of the front panel and another parallel the lower rear hinge; the text pages have tanned slightly, due to aging; the binding is square and secure; the text is clean. Free of creases to the backstrip. Free of underlining, hi-lighting, notations, or marginalia. Free of any ownership names, dates, addresses, notations, inscriptions, stamps, plates, or labels. A handsome copy, structurally sound and tightly bound, showing mild wear and minor flaws. Not far from 'As New'. NOT a Remainder, Book-Club, or Ex-Library. 8vo. (8 x 5 x 0.5 inches). 145 pages. Language: English. Weight: 6 ounces. First published in France in 2003. Translated by Christine Schwartz Hartley. Trade Paperback. Mabanckou is a big star on the French literary scene, winner of the prestigious Prix Renaudaut, and unlike many of his navel-gazing French novelist counterparts, great at spinning an entertaining yarn. His writing is deceptively simple, though; look just below the surface, and you'll see numerous references to the history of French and American literature, in jokes that make you feel like you're in cahoots with the author. In any event, African Psycho is a very funny novel about and narrated by a small-time African crook who dreams of making it big like his hero, Angoualima, "the most famous of our country's assassins," a notorious serial killer with an enviable ability to make the front page of the papers. Our narrator dreams of making a splash but so far has only petty crimes to his name, so he sets out to kill a certain Germaine, refusing even to consider the "humiliating" possibility that his infamous act will go unnoticed by police and media.