Up Station Mountain Club

Tackling the Goliaths of Triangular Love A Review of Forbidden Fugitives by Dr. Fon Ngu (2024, 87 pp. Paperback $9.00. ISBN 493-26058R00056)

Reviewer: Peter Wuteh Vakunta, Ph.D.

Fon Ngu’s debut novel titled Forbidden Fugitives: A Gut-Wrenching Tale of Love, Betrayal and Shattered Dreams (2024) seems to be an ode[1] to romance. Set against the backdrop of conflictual co-existence, this skillfully crafted narrative takes the reader down sentimental memory lane. Ngu conveys his vision of conflictual romance and its socio-humanistic ramifications throughout the novel by carefully electing his diction in a bid to convey both joyous and melancholic lived experiences as seen in the following citation: “Theirs was a love kindled in the innocence of childhood. The couple’s bond weathered the trials of time, weaving a tapestry of forbidden passion amidst the conservative fabric of the town.” (p.1) The over-ridding theme in Forbidden Fugitives: A Gut-Wrenching Tale of Love, Betrayal and Shattered Dreams(2024) is the concept of taboo love, which reminds us of novels such as My Taboo Love (2022) by Ali Parker and Taboo Love (2014) by Anita Lawless.

In Forbidden Fugitives: A Gut-Wrenching Tale of Love, Betrayal and Shattered Dreams (2024), the novelist does not shy away from shining the lime-light on the nitty-gritty of the narrative backdrop[2].  He writes: “In the tranquil embrace of Willow Brooks, Illinois, in the mid-1930s, where rustling leaves whispered ancient secrets and cobblestone streets witnessed centuries-old tales, a harmony danced between tradition and modernity.” (p.1) The lexeme “Illinois” leaves the reader with little or no doubt that the geographic setting of this novel is the State of Illinois the United States of America. The novel is captivating in many respects but the one feature that places Ngu’s novel on a high pedestal is his meticulous choice of stylistic devices. Personification seems to be his device of choice as seen in the following citation: “The air crackled with an unspoken tension, and time seemed to stand still. Each heartbeat resonated like a booming echo, creating a moment pregnant with possibility.” (p.6)As seen in the foregoing citation, the novelist ascribes human attributes to astral bodies. This same stylistic phenomenon is noticeable in this statement: “The sun tiptoed into the sky painting the town of Willow Brook with the soft hues of dawn.” (p.11) It is hard for the reader to not spot the personification of the sun through the word “tiptoed” which endows the sun with human feet.

In Forbidden Fugitives: A Gut-Wrenching Tale of Love, Betrayal and Shattered Dreams (2024), there is a medley of personification, metaphors and similes. Among the many narrative tropes that render Ngu’s narrative translucent, is the technique of suspense. Ngu writes: “The air sparkled with excitement, but little did everyone know that a clandestine melody was playing in the hearts of two lovers.” (p.11). The protagonists in this narrative are Matthew Jones and Grace Alden who have eloped. Ngu writes: “Townsfolk spoke of Mathew and Grace’s elopement with a mix of awe and disapproval” (p.16). There is an atmosphere of expectancy as the narrative unfolds. Ngu writes: “Thomas took a deep breath, grappling with the reality of the situation. ‘We must find them, he said with determination.’” (p.17) Evidently, what started off as a duo romance winds up englobing the entire community of Willow Brook. The novel is captivating in several respects but the aspect that is attention-grabbing is the novelist’s careful selection of themes that constitute the kernel of his narrative.

This novel is woven around the metaphor of elopement. The novelist writes: “And so, amid the jubilant festivities of the fair, two souls embarked on a journey filled with secrets, desires, and the profound depths of forbidden love.” (p.4). The writer spices his narrative with cultural peculiarities as though to create a contradistinction between the world of reality and a fictitious world. He writes: “In the distance, a mysterious fortune teller beckoned them to her tent, promising to reveal the secrets of their intertwined destinies…The fortune teller, whose eyes seemed to hold the wisdom of centuries, welcomed them with a knowing smile.” (p.5) Ngu’s reference to fortune-telling, alternately called necromancy, appears to be the novelist’s rap on Witcraft; the belief in the supernatural. Another theme that the novelist addresses emphatically is the disconnect between the genuine and immaterial. The novelist underscores the futility of love affairs that are hinged on materialism or gain. He observes: “Once a grand fortress of wealth and certainty, the Winthrop household now stood on the edge of uncertainty. The absence of Grace, the enchanting bride-to-be, hung like a cloud over the upcoming wedding, leaving everyone wondering what was going on in the Winthrop mansion.” (p.15)Notice the clever manner into which thematic concerns are etched into the narrative fabric of this novel. It is hard to not notice the role of suspense in this love saga.

Another interesting theme that the novelist dwells upon is forbidden love between two individuals of unequal social strata. Ngu writes: “The town now caught in the throes of scandal and intrigue, awaited the resolution of the unfolding drama. The fragile bonds of loyalty, love and family faced a test, and the pages of Willow Brook’s history turned when the sun dropped under the skyline, casting a bright yellow glow over Willow Brook, entangled in the secrets of forbidden love.” (p.18). Antithetical to this theme is that of the transformative power of true love. In the author’s own words, “The once-fragmented town became a haven of collective health and happiness, a testament to the transformative power of love’s redemption.” (p.81). It is hard not to hear some Biblical undertones in this novelist’s diction.

The epilogue of Forbidden Fugitives: A Gut-Wrenching Tale of Love, Betrayal and Shattered Dreams (2024) underscores the dire need for forgiveness as noted in the following quote: “The echoes of forgiveness and redemption resonated through their shared life, each day a testament to the enduring power of a love that had weathered the storms of time.” (p.80) Several instances in this novel shed ample light on the characters’ genuine willingness to forgive wrongs of the past as seen in this statement: “As the ink on the parchment dried, Thomas Winthrop extended the olive branch of forgiveness…The reunion, tinged with echoes of forgiveness and the resilience of love, unfolded within the walls of Willow Brook’s most illustrious mansion.” (p.75)

We would be remiss if we did not dwell on the importance of characterization in this great novel. The protagonists are Matthew Jones and Grace Alden. Olivia is Grace’s young friend who plays the role of confidante throughout the narrative. Edmund is Grace’s father. Thomas is the cuckolded suitor in this triangular narrative. Edmund is Thomas’ younger brother. Forbidden Fugitives: A Gut-Wrenching Tale of Love, Betrayal and Shattered Dreams (2024) is a cleverly crafted tapestry of well-thought out fiction in which thematic concerns morph brilliantly into a well-sustained anecdote sustained by sturdy witticisms.The musicality of Ngu’s prose is reminiscent of William Shakespeare’s sonnets as seen in the following citation: “The shadows that pursued them converged in a haunting embrace, sealing their fate in a poignant collision of destiny and despair.” (p.83) Notice the musicality produced by the vocalic melody emanating from the juxtaposition of “destiny” and “despair”. Personification serves as a poignant creational tool in the hands of this writer. It is hard to not hold one’s breath in the vicinity of shadows in hot pursuit of human beings.

Ngu’s narrative speaks of the resilience of love and the indomitable spirit of united folks. Forbidden Fugitives: A Gut-Wrenching Tale of Love, Betrayal and Shattered Dreams(2024) fictionalizes the theme of benevolence as the following citation seems to suggest: “Thomas and Grace Winthrop, the newlyweds who had captured the hearts of a nation, embraced their roles as pillars of benevolence with an enthusiasm that permeated every corner of the historic town.”(p.80) The same theme is revisited in the following statement: “The citizens of Willow Brook, once divided by loyalties and judgments, found themselves united under the benevolent rule of the first couple.”(p.80)

Forbidden Fugitives: A Gut-Wrenching Tale of Love, Betrayal and Shattered Dreams (2024), it seems to us, is a turn in the tail sort of narrative where the reader is presented with a surprising change in the direction of the story. The story starts of as an elopement escapade featuring Thomas and Grace. Nonetheless, as the story progresses, there is retrouvaille[3], reconciliation and matrimony. The novelist introduces this twist in order to introduce a significant shift in the storyline, that leaves the reader or audience with a sense of surprise or intrigue. In essence, Forbidden Fugitives: A Gut-Wrenching Tale of Love, Betrayal and Shattered Dreams (2024) is a narrative where the seemingly predictable or expected is suddenly disrupted by an unexpected turn of events or revelations. The crescendo comes when Thomas proposes marriage to Grace as noted in the following citation: “Underneath a canopy of stars that bore witness to countless tales of love, Thomas Winthrop dropped to one knee. A velvet box cradling a symbol of eternal commitment emerged, and the words, laden with sincerity, escaped his lips. ‘Grace Alden, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?’ ‘Yes, my love.’” (p.77) In a nutshell, Forbidden Fugitives: A Gut-Wrenching Tale of Love, Betrayal and Shattered Dreams (2024), though a debut novel, promises to stand the test of time. The creative ingenuity, verbal artistry and the profundity of themes treated therein constitute the forte of this nascent fiction writer. This book is only the first step toward laudable accomplishments in the future.

Notes

[1] A lyric poem in the form of an address to a particular subject, often elevated in style or manner and written in varied or irregular meter.

[2] Background or setting 

[3] Retrouvaille is a French word that means rediscovery.

Unlocking the Door to Democracy in Cameroon: Obliterating the Socio-Cultural Foundations of Corruption

By Emmanuel Konde

Introduction

The Cameroon government is often accused of corruption, which it definitely did not invent. Corruption is endemic in all Cameroonian cultures.  It is from these cultures that corruption sprung nationally, flowered, and became internalized in governance as well as a variety of social relations.   Short of presenting its historical evolution, one merely has to examine how people function in Cameroonian society—with particular reference to the elementary level of social  relationships where the interplay of those in leadership positions and their extended family members and tribes people takes place to come to an understanding of the stranglehold that corruption exerts on many. 

The End of Military, or Beginning of Military-Civilian, Rule in Egypt?

Emmanuel Konde
 
Monarchy was extinguished in Egypt by the Free Officers Revolution of July 1952.  The last Egyptian king with any semblance of power was Faruq I, who ruled from April 28, 1936 to July 26, 1952.  With the overthrow of King Faruq I, the Egyptian military catapulted itself into power and has been ruling Egypt for the past 60 years. 

During these sixty years four military men have dominated the power structure of Egypt: General Muhammad Naguib (1901 -1984), the first of these had been projected by the Free Officers as leader of the 1952 Revolution; but Colonel Gamal Abdel-Nasser, at the time only 33 years old, was the power behind the throne.  On June 18, 1953 Egypt was declared a republic, which Naguib ruled as President from 1953 to 1954.  On November 14, 1954 Naguib was eased out of power and placed under house arrest; Nasser emerged as President of Egypt.

Invitation to Death in Geneva 1961:Explicating the Assassination of Moumié with Fishing Metaphors

By Emmanuel Konde
 
I read Dibussi Tande’s “France’s Dirty War in Cameroon: The Assassination of Félix-Roland Moumié (I)” and felt compelled to explore the narrative from a different perspective. 

Introduction 
 
The assassination of Cameroon’s UPC leaders Ruben Um Nyobé and Félix-Roland Moumié could not have been executed successfully without the complicity of trusted comrades within their party.  We are reminded of the suspicious work of Théodore May Matip in the assassination of Um Nyobé and, in the case of Moumié, the shadowy figure of Tchaptchet looms large in the horizon.  Granted, we cannot know with any degree of certainty the roles that Mayi Matip and Tchaptchet played in the assassination of Um and Moumié, respectively; for, in matters of this nature, those who know are invariably silent or tell tales intended to mislead; and those who do not know are always speculating. 

The African Problem

By Emmanuel Konde

The African problem is rooted in [their] acceptance of foreign religions, which led [them] to abandoning their own ideas of spirituality and their own gods.  In turn, their own gods abandoned them.  An abandoned people Africans are.  Everywhere in the world they occupy the lowest position; the few at the top are often forced to first shed away their Africanness and assume a new identity. Only Africans are abandoned people who must transform themselves to be accepted.
 
The two dominant religions in Africa are Islam and Christianity, both of which are foreign, and both were forced down the throats of Africans through conquest.  Today, these foreign religions define the African who, bereft of his original conception of God, is cast adrift by this inculcation of foreign cultures.

The African Propensity for Permanent Leadership Unraveled

Emmanuel Konde
 
The concept “political power” is nothing but an abstraction that can mean different things to different people according to their fancy. As a reality of life, however, it expresses the existential condition of power occupancy.  Power occupancy, the condition of actually having political power, has some cultural attributes but is not determined by culture.  It is the environment in which the “occupants of power” find themselves that determines the uses to which they employ power and whether they keep it in perpetuity or relinquish it at appropriate intervals. 

HOMAGE TO NDEH NTUMAZAH, 1926-2010: The Last of the Five Original Nationalists Departs this World

Emmanuel Konde
 
The Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC) was the original nationalist political party of Cameroon.  Five men constituted the public face of the party as its leaders: Ruben Um Nyobe (1913-1958), Ouandie Ernest (1924-1971), Abel Kingue (1924-1964), Felix Roland Moumiė (1925-1060), and Ndeh Ntumazah (1926-2010).  On January 21, 2010 Ndeh Ntumazah, the last of the original five, departed this world at the age of 83.  Ntumazah was the youngest of the five when he joined the U.P.C. in 1948 at age 22, and was also the last to die.  As the main link between nationalism in French Cameroun and British Southern Cameroons, he played a pivotal role propagating the political program of the UPC in English-speaking Cameroon and was probably the man responsible for unification of the two Cameroons. Had the vicissitudes of history not intervened to unravel the nationalist program of the UPC, Cameroon would probably be a different country today. 

Homecoming: Soul Babimbi Beckons His Brethren Home to New Bell Bassa

Emmanuel Konde
 
Mahop in Bassa is the plural of “talk” (singular: hop).  I have known two men named Mahop.  One was a Bassa of Limbe, a childhood friend; the other a Bassa of New Bell, an acquaintance, who eventually moved to Maryland and made home in Silver Springs the last two decades or so.  It is about the latter Mahop, Soul Mahop Soul (AKA Soul Babimbi or Soul Bams) that I am concerned about. 

 
The late Soul Bams (in red) on stage with Sam Fan Thomas (c) Jacob Nguni
 
Both Mahops shared some common characteristics.  They were extroverted, gregarious, possessed an uncanny ability for showmanship, and were talkativeness. 

Soul Bams’ Last Message in New Bell Bassa

image ©

By Emmanuel Konde
 
In a riveting video shot by Maestro Jacob Nguni, Soul Mahop Babimbi on his way home beckoned the sons and daughters of New Bell Bassa in Mbengueto return home and fix the town that gave them birth.  Cast in the heart of a decaying and visibly filthy backdrop of dilapidated houses, half-clad young people, women and men in a bar drinking, Soul Bams spoke candidly to his people. 
 
And here we behold the transformation of quintessential showman extraordinaire who seems to have never really grown up but remained a youth to the very end of his life.  With his signature fez cap turned backside front, Soul Bams became a philosopher-poet in this “New Bell Bassa” video(avilable at the end of this article) .

The Political Character of People Mirrored through the Embassy Imbroglio?

Emmanuel Konde

Introduction
When the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy noted that "The problem of power is how to get men of power to live for the public rather than off the public," he was referring of men who actually had and exercised power. 


But there are men without power who, through indirect association with men of power, actually come to think of themselves as powerful.  This kind of powerless power is called vicarious power.  It is safe to infer that those who exercise vicarious power are more dangerous than those who actually possess power because they accountable to none. 

Discourse on the Source of Corruption: The Harvest of Decolonization in Postcolonial Africa

Emmanuel Konde 
  
The European colonizer never danced with the colonized African throughout the colonial period until the eve of independence. 

 

It was then that the music began to play, and the colonizer, with deceptive arms stretched as invitation to dance with the colonized, the African, thinking himself equal to his European colonizer readily jumped on the dance floor and began the long waltz to decolonization. 

Revisiting Anglophone Marginalization

By Emmanuel Konde
 
1. Introduction
 
A lot of verbiage is being spilled forth by journalists and rabble-rousers alike, all men only partially schooled in the history of Cameroon . In fact, it has become something of a fad lately to peddle tantalizing and titillating stories about Anglophone marginalization without careful substantiation of this macabre rumor. Hungry for facts relating to this marginalization thesis, an unsuspecting public has consumed it without second thought. What follows below is a synoptic account of what befell Southern Cameroonians on the eve of unification and thereafter. As you read this piece, please exercise uncharacteristic calm, and coldly ponder these questions: (1) Is the Anglophone marginalization thesis relevant? (2) Can a people marginalize itself/themselves, or must one people overwhelm another for marginalization to take place? (3) Is self-marginalization possible? (4) If so, have Anglophone consciously or unconsciously marginalized themselves?

Time, Patience, and Education: Weaving the Fabric of Cameroon's Incipient Democracy

 Emmanuel Konde 
   
The primary responsibility of government is to insure the security, peace and stability of the country.  Any government that fails to discharge this responsibility is unfit to govern.  For the past quarter-century the CPDM Government in Cameroon has discharged this primary responsibility exceptionally well.  If in discharging this responsibility some collateral damage occurs, especially when rabble rousers incite the populace to rampage and damage property in towns and cities far-removed from the villages of the perpetrators, it is the rabble rousers and perpetrators who are to blame and not the Government.  It seems to this writer rather strange that hooligans leave their own remote villages intact and instead come to Douala to destroy personal and state property.  One wonders why the angry men do not exact such destruction in their own natal villages.

Cables from the Fatherland 3: The Diaspora and the Need for Culture Change at Home

Emmanuel Konde
 
Having outlined the dominant position of the CPDM in Cameroon politics, our attention should now be directed to its affiliate organs abroad. 
 
CPDM members in the USA (c) CPDM USA Blog

Overseas CPDM Sections have a critical role to play in politics of Cameroon as long as the party remains in power.  More than any other body, overseas CPDM Sections are the natural catalysts of change that may enable the party to thrive in the coming decades.  Currently, however, many overseas CPDM Sections have not risen to to play the roles for which they were created.

Cables from the Fatherland 2: The Political Realities on the Home Front

Emmanuel Konde
 
For good or ill, CPDM is the political party of Cameroon, the dominant political force…the political reality of the day.


Around CPDM everything revolves on the home front. This is fact and not fiction.  As such, any person who desires to contribute to nation-building in any way, shape or form, at least for now and the foreseeable future must first come to grips with this and, then, join the party. 

Cables from the Fatherland 1: The Emergence of a New Kind of Corruption

Emmanuel Konde
 
I just returned from my annual pilgrimage to the Fatherland where, in my hometown of Limbe, the unceasing torrential rains still flood the streets as well as a slew of neighborhoods. 
 
Street scene in Limbe (c) Orock Eta

Pretentions of power and wealth still abound, while greed and graft are on the rise, even as social development lags behind. But the Green Revolution has ensured an eternal plenitude of food, so that there is hardly a single Cameroonian who spends the night with a hungry stomach. 

From Disjuncture to Consensus 1: Discourse on New Partnership between State and Civil Society

 Emmanuel Konde 
  
Human greed and human arrogance of power are two major sources of social evil.  This is true of life in general and particularly so in politics.  Greed is the appropriation of resources to oneself or by a group of individuals.  Arrogance of political power is the selfish consumption of power by one person or a few at the expense of the people.  Greed and arrogance of power breed mistrust between power and wealth, the powerful not-so-knowledgeable and powerless-knowledgeable, and between those who have and those who want.  The term, civil society, was coined to designate the powerless-knowledgeable who have been systematically excluded from power and who, desirous of political power, strategically posit themselves as advocates for the marginalized masses.  It is not surprising that this concept is used only in reference to societies in which consensus among the major stake-holders is yet to be hatched. 

The Day the Music Paused: How Michael Jackson was Killed

Emmanuel Konde 
 
The music paused the world over on Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 2:26 p.m. PDT when the “King of Pop,” Michael Jackson, ceased to exist.  It is said that Michael suffered a cardiac arrest and all attempts to resuscitate him failed.  And so the stunning news filtered from the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles to the entire world:  “Michael Jackson is Dead!”
 
Although the physical death of Michael Jackson may have occurred on June 25, 2009, he had been killed spiritually many times over by journalists the likes of ABC ‘s Diane Sawyer (1995) and BBC’s Indian journalist Martin Bashir (2003). 

Iran is Not on the Path of 1979

Emmanuel Konde
 
Rabble rousing youth, incited by those who lost big in the Iranian Presidential Election of June 12, are on the prowl in the streets of Tehran.  These young people have nothing to lose but their naiveté. Many of them have practically no stake in Iran—no jobs, no operty, nothing….  Thus, they have chosen to eschew the orderly electoral process and elevate political disorder as an expression of their desire for democracy.  But democracy is rational and orderly.  It is expressed through the ballot box, not demonstrations designed to topple a duly elected government, and definitely not something that can be achieved through street action. 

Iran is a Theocratic Republic… Not a Democracy

Emmanuel Konde
 
Last Friday, 12 May, Iranian incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared winner of the presidential election that guaranteed him a second four-year term. 

Given the nature of the Iranian political system, few observers would feign that they did not know that the outcome of this particular election was pre-ordained. Yet   Ahmadinejad’s chief rival, Hossein Mousavi, his supporters and other so-called moderate candidates are contesting the election.  They claim that the vote was rigged, and have decided to capture that which they could not through the ballot by recourse to massive protests.  

Sotomayor's American Journey: From the Bronx Housing Projects to the Supreme Court

By Emmanuel Konde

Few American Dreams and dreamers can compare with Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s. Hers’ is more of a journey than a dream, a life’s journey that began in the Bronx Housing Projects of New York to ultimately end at the Supreme Court of the United States of America in Washingtom, DC.  This transformation in the life of Sotomayor epitomizes the change candidate Barack Obama had promised Americans during his campaign for the Office of President.  The slogan was “Change We Can Believe In”—the kind of change possible only in America— that President Obama is now transforming from mere belief to reality.

How the Gendarmerie Dislodged Fraudulent Abriba from Victoria

By Emmanuel Konde

The Problem in Perspective

I was only a boy when the momentous social transformations I am about to narrate were initiated in Victoria.  Granted, I cannot recollect every detail of what I observed but my inability to recollect these details cannot stop me from chronicling these events.  There is a lot of confusion out there being peddled by obstructionists and separatists.  And I think this is the historical juncture at which to narrate these facts.  I will, therefore, attempt to zero-in only on those aspects that I can still visualize with clarity, and try to present at least some outlines that can be filled by other Victoria boys and girls who witnessed them. 

The Human Will to Power

 Emmanuel Konde 
  
 When I write of power I mean real power and not the semblance of power, or the pretensions to power often exhibited by some powerless people.  I mean the kind of power that the powerful can employ at will to compel others to do what they would otherwise not do, or use to elevate or destroy life and property and render many a happy man or woman miserable.

Beyond Federalism, Unitarism, and Separatism: Harmonizing Cameroon’s Conflicting Colonial Political Cultures (Part 2)

II. UNCRITICAL ACCEPTANCE OF COLONIAL CULTURES

Rather than engage the process of fashioning a new political system grounded in the political usages of the 200 or so ethnic groups and tribes that make up the population of Cameroon, the new leaders of the Federation chose to remain true to alien political
cultures.

Post-independence Cameroon has been dominated by the French colonial legacy, but not without the assistance of the Anglophone political leadership. Far from seeing Cameroon's political problem as essentially a struggle between Francophones and Francophones, we can gain a better understanding if we begin looking at the problem as a "class thing."

Beyond Federalism, Unitarism, and Separatism: Harmonizing Cameroon’s Conflicting Colonial Political Cultures (Part 1)

By Emmanuel Konde

First it was the Germans, then the French and British. The impact of the political cultures of these three European powers on Cameroonians influenced the way they treated with one another at different times in their political history. Even after the defeat and expulsion of the Germans from Cameroon, the German colonial influence competed with the French and British in their respective spheres. By the end of the Second World War, however, the German influence was fast receding, as those Cameroonians nurtured in it were either too old to participate actively in politics or were gradually dying out.

Non-inheritance Begets a Culture of Poverty

Emmanuel Konde
 
All civilizations are produced by wealth.  Societies that have not mastered the methods of wealth accumulation and strategic deployment of wealth have remained perpetually primitive, poor,  and have never played any significant role in world history.  African societies seem to fit this bill and, by implication, so the African collectivity.  Why this is the case I cannot tell.  How to alter this primordial state of affairs, however, I propose to offer some valuable suggestions.