Echoes Book Club: So Long A Letter

Join us in person for the Echoes book club at Bookbag, the first event as part of Echoes weekend. We're discussing a classic novel from the African Writers Series, So Long A Letter (Une si longue lettre) by Mariama Bâ.

So Long a Letter is written in the form of a letter from Ramatoulaye, a Senegalese woman, to her friend Aissatou. Through this narrative, Mariama Bâ explores themes such as polygamy, love, betrayal, women’s rights, and tradition versus modernity. At just 90 pages, the book is slim, yet delivers a deep impact.

Mariama Bâ (1929–1981) was born in Dakar, Senegal, and raised by her grandparents after losing her mother at a young age. Despite social expectations, she received a formal education and later became a teacher.

Bâ was deeply concerned with the lives of African women, particularly in relation to marriage, education, equality and tradition.

So Long a Letter (1979) is her most famous work and is considered a classic of African literature. It won the Noma Award for Publishing in Africa in 1980.