The Usurper: and Other Stories

By: Janvier Chouteu-Chando

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

The Usurper: and Other Stories is an engaging collection that cuts through race, culture, religion, and creed. These short stories portray a unique perspective of traditional African life in the context of the modern world:

1. The son of a prince maneuvers his way to become the new king. Is he of royal blood? (The Usurper).

2. A reputable juju buckles under the threat of a mad cow, despite his powers to crush anything and anybody on its path. (Ngoko's Folly).

3. A clan head abuses his position and squanders the wealth that has been passed down from generation to generation until his angry ancestors judge him. (The Verdict of Hades).

4. The jaded womanizer loses the woman of his heart despite her love and then rues afterward for failing to find happiness. (The Oaf).

5. An African king defends himself in a French administrative court for marrying off his unhappily married granddaughter to his notable. How valid are his traditional powers of disposition in the colonial era? (His Majesty's Trial).

6. A young African king deprives his niece of the joy of her conjugal home. How correct is her half-brother in dragging the king to a French colonial court? (The Dowry).

7. A melancholic reflects on a past marked by affluence and betrayal. (I am Hated).


The Usurper: and Other Stories is written in an engaging manner that gives a vivid and engrossing account of the way of life of a unique people and culture. These stories touch on fierce love, loyalty, kinship, betrayal, war and peace, tradition, and the mysterious. And above all, they reveal the redeeming power of humanity. The listeners get involved in the story-telling through questions and remarks of their own. The outcome is a cleverly constructed composition where each preceding story acts as a forerunner to the next in a smooth flow that is meant to eliminate any sense of disconnect between stories. It is full of humor and pathos.