"A Trip To Kinshasa" is a story of a village schoolboy named Ya Fé who after taking geography lessons that beautifully described the hustle and bustle of city life in Kinshasa, became very passionate about visiting it. He convinced his parents to carry out his long awaited project. From the village to National Road 1, his paternal uncle Charles accompanied him riding his bike. From National Road 1 to Kinshasa suburbs, he and all the other people he met, took a dilapidated old German truck. All days and nights long, they endured painful moments, but still remained hopeful until they got to Kinshasa. The boy heard stories that dealt with socio-economic and political events susceptible to discourage him, but his determination to reach Kinshasa was very high.
Once he got to his destination in Kinshasa, he became disillusioned and disappointed due to his uncle's indifference to him. Apart from interesting and wonderful stories he heard about music, sports and some clothing and car spare parts shops he visited, his sightseeing in Matonge, his dream tourist attraction, resulted in discovering a disgustingly place where rascals, pickpockets, hustlers often live.
Alcohol addiction, listening to music all day long in bistros, gossiping, idleness, going to churches and spending most of their time in there were the ills afflicting people in Kinshasa" he said. He then decided to go back to join his folks in the village where he thinks life was not yet corrupted.
A Trip To Kinshasa is the product of real-life stories I heard from my younger sister and many others are experiences of my own. You may be tempted to read the last pages of this book to quickly understand its contents and close the book, but I know it is the page-by-page progression of the story that will bring you enjoyment and create passion in reading the whole book.