Tram 83

Tram 83 by Fiston Mwanza Mujila, 211 pages

An always-open, always-busy bar, Tram 83 serves as the hub of an unnamed seceded African city, the place at which miners come to drink beers and meet prostitutes after work, the place where both legitimate and below-the-table business deals are reached, the place where you can find anything and everyone you might be looking for. The plot of this short novel revolves around three people: Lucien, a penniless writer who has returned to the city-state to write his stage-play; Requiem, a kingpin of the city-state's underground who lets Lucien stay with him, despite holding a grudge against him; and Malingeau, a publisher and foreigner who keeps changing the terms under which he'll publish Lucien's text. And then there's Tram 83, which serves as the setting for most of the scenes in the book and gives the book life through the ever-present refrains from prostitutes, waitresses, miners, and tourists.

Reading this book is not easy, and is more akin to reading a jazz song. There are familiar refrains that pop up throughout the book, mixed in with long comma-filled sentences that feel something like an instrumental solo. So while it's a relatively short book, I found it best to approach it in small portions; it may be best read out loud, in a cadence that might be found at a poetry slam. This certainly isn't a book for everyone, but for those who care to brave it, the lyricism and rhythms of Tram 83 (both the book and the business) create an experience that isn't often found in books.