Le choix de l'Ori

[PLEASE NOTE: This book is written in French.] "Without a doubt, Louis Camara possesses this sense of the tale as well as the genius of narration. His magical pen draws from the ages and the deepest Yoruba thought the sons of gods, curious about humanity, playing out for us the game of individual destiny, unveiling for us its mysterious fabric woven from alternating strands of freedom and compulsion....And to choose one's Ori is for each soul on its way to humanity, to choose one's character, one's personality, and one's destiny." -- Pr. Issiaka Prosper Laleye, Universite Gaston Berger, Saint-Louis, Senegal **"Louis Camara reveals a Yoruba world-view that is humane and sane, in luminous French prose that reveals a complex relationship to the material - which is to say, life itself - but one that is always philosophical, good-natured, and accepting. As his characters work through their destinies, ...in a sentimental pretence that all have the same opportunities for successful lives, Camara represents not only the foolish and thoughtless choices made by the protagonists, but also the deterministic aspects of their provenance, and we may not forget them...It is the human condition, that paradox of free will and determinism, which Louis Camara presents unflinchingly but always good-naturedly. The tone is unsentimental, humorous, perceptive, and accepting, and in itself portrays the attitude one should have toward existence. It bespeaks a deep religious faith in the sanity of the universe and eschews despair and meaninglessness." -- Prof. Jean-Pierre Metereau, Department of English and Communication Studies, Texas Lutheran University, USA. ** Born in Saint Louis, Senegal, Louis Camara teaches literature and Yoruba civilisation at Universite Gaston Berger. He is passionate about poetry and the Yoruba cosmogony and mythology. He has published several works of fiction including Histoire d'Iyewa (1998) and Le Tambour d'Orunmila (2003).