Synopses & Reviews
Tété-Michel Kpomassie was a teenager in Togo when he discovered a book about Greenland — and knew that he must go there. Working his way north over nearly a decade, Kpomassie finally arrived in the country of his dreams. This brilliantly observed and superbly entertaining record of his adventures among the Inuit is a testament both to the wonderful strangeness of the human species and to the surprising sympathies that bind us all.
Review:
"A book with cultish standing..." Lonely Planet
Review:
"Kpomassie is indisputably a man of extraordinary charm; he is also sharp and perceptive and honest?unencumbered by a sense of obligation to his hosts that might have prevented him from telling us what they are really like. His honesty, while occasionally brutal, in the end serves the Greenlanders well: he pays them the compliment of showing them as they are." Katherine Bouton, The Nation
Review:
"Was there ever an odyssey like this one, from the palm forests of Togomote jumble of silence and ice of northern Greenland? It is a long way in miles, but even longer in resilience, adventurous persistence and uncanny charm...His book contains a catalogue of his impressions, combined with striking passages of fine writing. The result is the curious double perspective of a naïve visitor, combined with the controlled distance of a writer." Paul Zweig, The New York Times Book Review
About the Author
Born in Togo, Kpomassie subsequently left his native Africa and traveled to the north of Greenland in a journey that lasted ten years.
An African in Greenland, an autobiography that chronicles his journey, was awarded the Prix Littéraire Francophone International in 1981 and its English translation was one of
The New York Times' Notable Books of the Year in 1983. In addition to his novel, An African in Greenland, Kpomassie has written numerous articles and short stories for French publications.
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