The Belly of the Atlantic

The Belly of the Atlantic (Le Ventre de l'Atlantique) is the first novel by the Senegal ese writer Fatou Diome. It was released in 2003 by Anne Carrière.

This novel depicts the dreams of emigration of young Senegalese people to France.

Plot
In Strasbourg, the narrator must inform her half-brother Madické on the telephone of the progress of the football matches of the Italian national team which he cannot follow on television on the island of Niodior, off the coast of Senegal. He plans to come to France to become a famous and rich footballer, identifying with some brilliant Senegalese playing in French clubs.

The book is an incessant back and forth between Senegal and France, where the narrator uncompromisingly describes the situation faced by immigrants who quickly become illegal, facing racism and threats of expulsion,

She is clear eyed with her village of origin, where illiteracy, the situation of women, the power of marabouts, the tendency to demand everything from those who have expatriated, are discussed openly. Likewise, colonial inequality is underlined between the French who can do tourism in Senegal without a visa, and the Senegalese for whom obtaining a visa for France is a journey strewn with difficultiesl..

Themes
France represents paradise for the people of Niodior.

Fatou Diome's work describes the question of identity, divided between France and Senegal.