Reconfiguring The Postcolonial ‘other’ In 21st-century African Novels: Fatou Diome’s Le Ventre De L’atlantique And Emmanuel Dongala’s Johnny Chien Méchant

In postcolonial discourses more generally, the categories of ‘Self’ and ‘Other’ have con¬ventially been seen as an opposition (Olaussen 2009: ix). While this applies to Europe’s ‘Others’ more generally, it is, as Achille Mbembe (2001:2) has stated, “in relation to Africa that the notion of ‘absolute otherness’ has been taken farthest”. This paper argues that many contemporary African writers reconfigure the postcolonial ‘Other’ in their novels, ultimately challenging the convential perception and/or construction of African ‘Selves’ as ‘Others’ and thus a unidirectional production of alterity