A "reverse reading" of Ken Bugul's writings: Feminist and African literarycriticism

This article proposes a "backward" reading of the works of Bugul who has, u p till now, been considered a feminist writer, in the Western sense of the term. When we take in account her latest novel, this once seemingly appropr iate categorisation no longer seems so accurate. If "Le Baobab Fou" was a n ovel of experience, of the pain related to the word, "Riwan ou le Chemin de Sable" brings to a conclusion the liberation announced at the end of "Cend res et Braises": the "celestial harmonies" that close the second novel are confirmed in the third one by the fact that the author-narrator acquires a certain equilibrium as well as a place in a peaceful setting ruled by the O rder she longed for, although such Order represents an unexpected option wh ich, from a ideological point of view, a substantial part of the critic doe s not share.