"Munching on his bicycle chicken (apparently a Congolese term for scrawny poultry), Broken Glass - the eponymous narrator - tells us the story of the bar he frequents: the Credit Gone Away, owned by his friend, the Stubborn Snail, who has helpfully provided Broken Glass with a notebook to chronicle the comings and goings. Broken Glass, as his nickname suggests, is not the happiest of individuals, and this former teacher's thirst for bottled solace is matched by several other distressed and disgraced patrons of the bar. "Broken Glass" proves to be an obsessive, slyly playful, raconteur. Some of his tales are about the patrons, others mock politicians and worthies, and one or two concern his own misadventures."

Mabanckou seems to hav worked in 170 different bows to World literature, especially but not only French classics and the reader is dared to find all the allusions along the way. The narrative sometimes was rough, sometimes sly and at times highly eloquent. An intruiging mix of different ramblings and epiphanies. Broken Glass tries to present "the life behind the words" while asking "Why waste your time with people that read books in English" :)

At one point the author even points out through Stubborn Snail's remarks: "[...]it's a real mess, this book, there are no full stops, only commas and more commas, sometimes speech marks [...] that's not right" And yes, this is true - but curiously enough - doesn't disrupt the reading experience.

I enjoyed the book - some stories more than others - even if the ladies in the novel aren't presented in the kindest of lights.

Onwards to new readers :)