The Villain's Dance

The Villain's Dance is a longlisted book for the National Book Award for Translated Literature, featuring wit, music, and a cast of characters in Zaire and Angola during the late 90s.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 25 April 2024
Publisher: Deep Vellum Publishing

Longlisted for the National Book Award for Translated Literature, Fiston Mwanza Mujila's "The Villain's Dance" is a captivating novel filled with wit, music, and a lively cast of characters. Set in Zaire in the late 1990s, the story follows the lives of several individuals caught up in the political and social upheaval of the time. Sanza, a stubbornly homeless street kid, joins a trio of veteran street kids led by the devious Ngungi. A chance encounter with the mysterious Monsieur Guillaume offers a way out, but things take a turn for the worse when Sanza is caught up in a dangerous diamond smuggling operation. Meanwhile, in Angola, Molakisi joins thousands of fellow Zairians hoping to make their fortunes hunting diamonds, while Austrian Franz finds himself roped into writing the memoirs of the charismatic Tshiamuena, the Madonna of the Cafunfo Mines. As things draw to a head, the Mambo de la Fête continues to host the Villain's Dance, a dance that lasts from dusk till dawn.

Weight: 332g
Dimension: 133 x 209 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781646051274