Call Me Abou

As a small African boy, Abou has to deal with more than a boy his age needed. His birth father dies before he is born and then Abou's step father dies leaving him alone with his mother. They live in a village where they are no longer welcomed. Abou's mother is accused of witchcraft and Abou soon learns what people can be like when they are afraid. After a heated village meeting, the whole matter of witchcraft is resolved. But the stresses of dealing with his mother and the way the villagers behave had a severe effect on his education as he goes from the top of the class to the bottom. It is not long before his mother takes him back to her home town of Banjul, where she thinks they will be safe and have a better life. It wasn't long before Abou meets Saul Rasta and things go from bad to worseFor author Sanusi Camara, using the template that portrays the stepmom or mother-in-law as the difficult person such as in stories from Cinderella to The Jeffersons is not what one should expect from a Gambian writer. The author doesn't think it's normal, he responded to Port of Harlem in third person. After the trial, his mother and Abou eventually moved to the capital city, Banjul, where he, now as a young adult, is tempted by city life.Unexpectedly, Camara takes a swipe at the judicial system that a Westerner may miss, but it's that type of freshness that makes one think and this concise tale a great adventure. - Port of Harlem Magazine, Washington DC