<p>When Akuma—a youthful African government secondary school teacher—leaves his hometown and goes to the capital city, hardly does he know that he will be paralyzed and will not be able to use his legs again. The Journey’s End is a character-driven narrative that explores the lives of two men who meet in Yaoundé, the capital city—Lucas Wango (an elderly pensioner who comes to collect his back pay of seven years’ pension money) and Akuma (a physically challenged man who helps him recover his pension arrears). Wango doesn’t know that Akuma, aka Général, is a mobster and the boss of a city gang that commands and controls a better part of the metropolis. Running parallel to this central plot are two subplots that eventually converge at the end of the novel—Lucas Wango’s meddling in and eventual frustration with national political life and Général’s relationship with Martina, a woman he falls in love with in the city. Set in the rural African landscape of Yambe and Menamo (Akuma’s home village which he left to come to the city) and the urban backdrop of the rapidly populated city of Yaoundé, The Journey’s End epitomizes the predicament of Africa’s expanding slum-cities, characterized by poverty, corruption, and survival-driven individuality. For whom does the journey end – remains an absorbing question that animates every single page in this extraordinary urban adventure.</p>

The Journey’s End

Literature & Fiction

Mutia, Ba’bila

United States

Spears Media Press

<p>Product Description      "The Vacuum Chamber" recounts the intriguing encounter between investigative journalist, Fondo and a mysterious scientist, Dr Tanda Matanda, who heads an elusive Futuristic Institute of Science and Technology (FIST) where he carries out strange experiments in the Mendankwe mountains. Fondo eventually discovers that Dr Matanda’s experiments reveal profound but dreadful insights on the question of life and death and indeed, the future of the country. "A Handful of Earth" details the unusual friendship between Veke Lucasi and Saddi Tegene who are both enthralled by the affections of the school belle, Bridget Bijanga. Lucasi and Tegene’s rivalry follows them through their adult life, climaxing in a brief romance and terrifying encounters with mystical forces. A Handful of Earth is intriguing, disturbing, and haunts the reader from the beginning to the end. Mutia is a master at weaving plot, creating suspense, and building petrifying horror.      Review      "The Vacuum Chamber is a mesmerizing revelation of the workings of a writer and true patriot's mind on how to deal with the stifling, stagnating, and frustrating essence of his nation's lackluster existence in a bid to reclaim his fallen country from a failed leadership wanting in administrative astuteness. A Hand Full of Earth will intrigue, disturb, and haunt the reader from start to finish. Mutia is a master at weaving his plot, creating suspense, and building petrifying horror." - Emmanuel Fru Doh, PhD, Century College, Minnesota, USA"Babila Mutia is a master storyteller but he is a poet too, and his poetic sensibilities are not far off in these two masterpieces. We, the readers are at his mercy, devouring every word, and when we get to the last page, we are forced to confront the unstable nature of what we call our reality." - Joyce Ashuntantang, PhD, author of Beautiful Fire"These stories glide effortlessly in between genres and are inextricably rooted in a unique kind of political realism, unafraid of pushing boundaries." - Dzekashu MacViban, Bakwa Magazine"The Vacuum Chamber, a form of Magical Realism incorporates science and technology with imagination and alternate forms of reality. It is so excellently paced that one cannot put it down. A Handful of Earth is a dark cautionary story, with a warning that will instruct and intrigue." - Mary H. Bruce, Professor Emerita, Monmouth College, IL      About the Author      Ba'bila Mutia is an award-winning Cameroonian author, poet, and playwright. He holds an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Windsor, Canada. His short stories and poetry have been featured in anthologies and reviews worldwide. He is the author of Whose Land? (Longman children's fiction); Rain (short story) in A Window on Africa; The Miracle (short story) in The Heinemann Book of Contemporary African Short Stories; The Spirit Machine (short story) in The Spirit Machine and Other New Short Stories from Cameroon, Coils of Mortal Flesh (poetry) and The Journey's End (2016). In 1993, Mutia was a guest of the Berlin Academy of Arts for an international short story reading. In September 2011, Mutia's play, The Road to Goma, was among six winners of the African Playwriting Project sponsored by the London National Theatre Studio where excerpts of his play were staged by professional actors. He has lived in Lagos and Benin City (Nigeria), Windsor and Halifax (Canada). He currently resides in Yaoundé, Cameroon where he is professor of African literature and creative writing at the École Normale Supérieure.</p>

The Vacuum Chamber: Two Novellas

Genre Fiction

Spears Books

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