Ahmadou Kourouma, (1927 – December 11, 2003) was an African novelist.

He was the eldest son of a distinguished Malinke family, was born in 1927 in Ivory Coast. He was forced to leave the country in 1963, falsely accused of participating in a "conspiracy." Determined to speak out against the betrayal of legitimate African aspirations at the dawn of independence, Kourouma was drawn into an experiment in fiction, his first novel, The Suns of Independence. The publication of Monne, outrages ed defis confirmed his reputation as one of the foremost writers of his generation. He returned to Ivory Coast in 1992.

Though Ahmadou Kourouma published a few novels, they are among the most significant by any modern African author. In France, each has been greeted with great acclaim, sold exceptionally well, and been showered with prizes including Prix Renaudot in year 2000. In the English-speaking world, Kourouma has yet to make much of an impression: despite some positive reviews, he remains largely unknown outside college classes in African fiction.

His first novel, The Suns of Independence, in the early 1960s. It was rejected by several French publishers (including Éditions du Seuil), and Kourouma eventually submitted it in a competition organized by the journal Études Françaises at the University of Montreal in 1967. The manuscript won, and was then published by Les Presses de l'Université‚ de Montréal in 1968. Éditions du Seuil then bought the rights and published it in France in 1970, and the novel went on to garner much praise, many prizes, and significant sales. An English translation, however, only appeared in 1981. Kourouma's second novel, Monnew, was only published in 1990, and Waiting for the Wild Beasts to Vote only in 1998. He continues to enjoy great critical and popular success. His most recent novel, Allah n'est pas Obligé (2000), in particular attracted much attention, dealing with a subject matter (child soldiers under the heinous West African regimes in Liberia and Sierre Leone) that has achieved some notoriety in the West. It has been translated by Frank Wynne and will be published in the UK in 2005

Kourouma's books offer a broad picture of western Africa in the twentieth century. Actual regimes, many of the (mis)rulers of the region, and changing daily life in these areas over the course of the century are all covered in his works. It is a stunning and significant portrait of a region that is not well-known in Europe and America. Kourouma uses satire - forcefully and well. He is sharp, cutting, and to the point in his examples and his presentation. Some of the writing might appear rough and ramshackle: he doesn't linger, and he doesn't worry about many of the finer points. He conveys his material in broad strokes - though there are some fine small touches, too.

"The novels are fast-paced and episodic, and on the wild side: magic goes with realism, traditional European narrative techniques are mixed and matched with African traditions. Oral literature influences much of the writing and its presentation, but Kourouma effectively presents it in his written form."

Bibliography

• The Suns of Independence - novel, 1968 (Les soleils des indépendances, trans. Adrian Adams, 1981)
• Le diseur de vérité - drama, 1972 (first published 1998)
• Monnew - novel, 1990 (Monnè, trans. Nidra Poller, 1993)
• Waiting for the Wild Beasts to Vote novel, 1998 (En attendant le vote des bêtes sauvages) translated by Frank Wynne (2003)
• Yacouba, chasseur africain - children's novel, 1998
• Allah n'est pas obligé - novel, 2000 translated by Frank Wynne (2005)