Une si longue lettre (English: So Long a Letter) is a semi-autobiographical epistolary novel originally written in French by the Senegalese writer Mariama Ba. This African novel captures the everyday frustrations that many women face in Western African society, especially after the death of their spouses. The writer received the 1980 Noma Award for Publishing in Africa for this book.
This novel is written as a series of letters between the main character Ramatoulaye Fall and her best friend Aissatou, describing her struggle for survival following the sudden death of Ramatoulaye’s husband Modou from a heart attack.
So Long a Letter
- Paperback, 90 pages
- Published June 28th 1989 by Heinemann Educational Books (first published 1979)
- Author: Mariama Ba
- Original title: Une si longue letter
- Language: French
- Edition Language: English
- Genre: Novel
- Country: Senegal
- ISBN: 9782266027 (hardback edition)
- Literary Awards: Noma Award for Publishing in Africa (1980)
