Aya of yop city
#Aya of yop city full#
Navigating meddling relatives and neighbours, the girls spend a last summer of their childhood on the sun-warmed streets of Yop City - sneaking out for dancing at open-air bars, strong solibra beer, chicken in peanut sauce and avoiding at all costs the scandal pages of the Calamity Morning.Īya is a captivating, colourful and hugely entertaining portrayal of an Africa we rarely see, spirited and resilient, and full of the sounds, sights and smells of a prosperous town and its varied inhabitants. The story of Aya of Yop City is rooted in the childhood memories of its author, Marguerite Abouet.The writer lived in Yopougon, a vast working-class neighbourhood on the outskirts of Abidjan, until the age of 12. For the teenagers of the town, though, worries are plentiful, and life in Yop City is far from simple.Īya tells the story of its nineteen-year-old heroine, the clear-sighted and bookish Aya, and her carefree and fun-loving friends Adjoua and Bintou. The Ivory Coast is as an island of relative wealth and stability in West Africa. It is the early 1970s, a golden time - work is plentiful, hospitals are clean and well equipped, and school is obligatory.
For the residents of Yopougon, everyday life is good.