Cyrus Farivar pointed me to this recently-published French book titled Chine-Afrique: Le Dragon et l’Autruche, which translates as “China-Africa: The Dragon and the Ostrich). The cover, shown below, is pretty ridiculous and dated, not just for what’s depicted, but also the rinky-dink style in which it’s depicted. I’m reminded of the crappy artwork from grade school reading texts from the 1970s:
I wonder why the Chinese dude’s briefcase reads “Made in China” in English and not “Fabriqué en Chine”.
Here’s the publisher’s description of the book in the original French:
L’une étonne le monde; l’autre le désole. La Chine, le dragon rugissant du 21ème siècle, et l’Afrique, l’autruche impuissante à affronter ses défis. Qu’est-ce qui a bien pu se passer pour que leurs sorts respectifs soient si différents ? Cet ouvrage, l’un des premiers sur le sujet, établit les causes de cette dissymétrie des destins sino-africains, en passant en revue leurs expériences au cours des 60 dernières années, mais aussi en analysant leurs ressorts politiques, économique et sociaux actuels.
And here’s my (possibly loosey-goosey) translation:
One astonishes the world; the other afflicts it. China, the roaring dragon of the 21st century, and Africa, the ostrich incapable of facing its challenges. What could have happened that made their outcomes so different? This work, one of the first on the subject, establishes the causes of this disparity of Chinese and African destinies, reviews their experiences over the past 60 years while analyzing their current political, economic and social options.
Between the cover and that line about Africa “afflicting” the world, I’m tempted to say “French racism, Gallic charm, po-TAY-to, po-TAH-to, n’est-ce pas?”
I suggested to Cyrus that he write a review if he purchases a copy.
I thought that the Chinese dude in the dragon’s pouch wasn’t that far off from what I looked like. If you gave him an accordion, some sideburns and a goatee, you’d have Yours Truly. So that’s what I did, resulting in the book cover below:
Click the image to the see Scoble’s blog.
7 replies on “Oddball Cover of a French Book on China and Africa”
It begs to be remixed with the dragon book cover (http://www.aw-bc.com/bigcovers/0201100886.jpg)
I’m not a native French speaker, but let me weigh in on something that nobody else has (yet):
I’m not at all sure that “l’autre le désole” translates well in this context as “the other afflicts [the world]”. Yes, I think it’s accurate, but gives the wrong impression. I would have translated it as “the other makes [the world] grieve”.
To me this would eliminate any suggestion of racism.
I think it’s time to call on some native French speakers. I’ll post something and see if I get any volunteers.
“To me this would eliminate any suggestion of racism.”
Are you talking about any racism in the text, or all together? The monkeys with big lips and human clothing seem (to me, at least) to cross the line. I certainly wouldn’t want my kids reading this book.
I meant in the text. The cover was likely out of the author’s control.
Reminds me more of Trogdor the Burninator.
fyi, the author of this book is a (black) African – Senegalese to be precise. I’m not saying that eliminates the possibility of racism (although I think there’s nothing racist in the content of the book), just thought it was funny you assumed the writer was french.