TE22 Potpourri

Lalana (novel excerpt) Michèle Rakotoson translated from French-Malagsi by Allison M. Charette

Chapter 9 The bell starts ringing abruptly, crystal clear, out of nowhere, brief, like a call. A breath of wind or a mirage must have made it move, created by Naivo, who doesn’t know where he is in this story anymore, it carries him outside of himself. He’d like to skip a few steps and be by the sea, there, at the end of their journey, but Rivo is climbing the slope up to the church even though the bell has fallen silent, and Naivo distinctly senses breathing and fabric rustling around him, bodies that surround him, and the dull slap of bare feet on the ground. He can even sense the smell of soap that washed clothes and bodies, not too nice, a smell of sulfur, and ash, and tallow, a wild pasture smell. Above it all is the sound of harmonium and songs. That’s not a dream, peoplearesinging in thesmall church. They’vegathered there, and that’swhy thevillage seems deserted, why the streets are empty, doors closed. All the villagers are at worship. These people have slidden into the strictest, most rigorous type of religion. It’s the only outlet they’ve been offered from poverty and madness. It’s that or war. After thirty years of dictators and bureaucraticwaste, they don’t want war ormassacres anymore, they’ve set a structure to survive. To push back against their

[Enjoy an interview with translator Allison M. Charette in the October 3, 2021 episode of our French Forays series on Trafi - ka Europe Radio—includes an excerpt reading from Lalana (48-Minute audio).]

Michèle Rakotoson 10

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