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So long a letter (translated from Une si longue lettre) is a novel originally written in French by the Senegalese writer Mariama Bâ. Its theme is the condition of women in African society.
[edit] Plot summary
The book is written in the form of a letter written by a recently widowed Senegalese woman, Ramatoulaye, to her friend. The letter is written during the mandatory Muslim mourning period after the death of her husband. Ramatoulaye evokes happy memories of when the two were students who were impatient to change the world, and of the hope inspired by the independence of Senegal from France. While her step-family comes to take over the affairs of the deceased, Ramatoulaye sadly remembers the day when her husband (Modou) took another younger wife (Binetou), ruining 25 years of life together and of love. This betrayal becomes one of the central plot points and is the main area of confrontation between Ramatoulaye and her husband.
Spoilers end here.
