Hubert Kolani is a trained lawyer and a young author from Togo. He wrote the French-language novel Le Sang du Pouvoir to look at political power in a fictional story. The book follows a strong woman nicknamed "The Iron Lady" and other people caught in political fights.
The novel shows dark politics, spiritual ties and painful choices, but also women's resilience and love. Kolani says fiction gives him freedom that journalism or essays do not. He wants readers to think, discuss and imagine a more humane political life.
Difficult words
- novel — a long written story with characters
- fiction — made up stories not factual reporting
- resilience — ability to recover from problems
- spiritual — connected with religion or inner life
- journalism — work of reporting news and stories
- essay — a short piece of writing about a topicessays
- nickname — to give someone a shorter or special namenicknamed
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Discussion questions
- Do you prefer reading fiction or journalism? Why?
- How can a novel help readers imagine a more humane political life?
- Would you read a book about political fights? Why or why not?
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