🇬🇦GabonCentral Africa
Gabonese-British author Édifice Price debuts with novel exploring resilience and identity
via Gabon Review3 min read
Édifice Price, a Gabonese-British writer, presented her debut novel, "Sanction et Peine: L'orage d'une vie" Sanction and Punishment: The Storm of a Life, on June 4, 2026, at the Omar Bongo University Library in Libreville. The 374-page book, published by Bruyère editions, explores themes of resilience, identity, and personal reconstruction through the story of Badimba, a young Gabonese woman facing rejection and family wounds. The narrative follows Badimba's journey from Libreville to London and New York as she seeks emancipation and personal healing, grappling with family silences and unspoken issues. Price, whose civil name is Blanche Matchanga and who was born in 1978 in Koulamoutou, Ogooué-Lolo province, stated that writing served as a therapeutic outlet for long-held emotions and experiences. She explained that the name Badimba, meaning "forgotten" in the Nzebi language, symbolizes both abandonment and the ability to overcome adversity. The author aims to convey a message of hope and inner healing, emphasizing the importance of expressing suffering for recovery. Price has announced plans for a second volume, "Sanction et peine: une vie, un destin – Mes mémoires," and another work titled "L'Apothéose des roses de ma mémoire."
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