DANCING HEART BY DONA FORBIN

Book review presented by Blasius Ngome, Head of Division for Public Relations and Communications in Sonara, Editor-in- chief of Sonara news magazine, and author of the novel entitled “j’ai le sida”

Dona Forbin’s dancing heart caresses the reader like the breeze from the Atlantic ocean, takes him like whirlwind to the peak of Mount Cameroon, thus leading him to a volcanic explosion of ecstasy, unlimited generosity, self realisation etc.It depicts a feeling of guilt arising from adulterous behaviours which do not spare the men of God, exposes selfishness, neglect of marital and parental responsibilities resulting at times in fatal accidents whose price is death, mourning, excruciating pain, discomfort and guilt.

Finally this collection of short stories appears like another version of Picasso’s painting where the good, the bad and ugly vie for prominence. The titles speak for themselves i.e. Elisabeth’s Peace Offering, Forgiving Ambe, Interrupting Life, Romantic Terminal, Many Deceivers, Official Folly, The National Cake, Marital Inconvenience etc.

Dancing heart is a gold mine where only the most patient dog discovers the valuable piece of gold that does not and should not end up on a pig’s nose but rather in the hearts of the men and women of substance, I mean those with dancing hearts. Infact this book of 106 pages with 12 short stories published in Cameroon by Design House Limbe embodies life lessons or rather lessons of life for life in the same respect like that of OG Mandingo titled “University of Success”.

 To be more specific take the first story “Elisabeth’s peace offering” pathetic in essence, an epitome of generosity and concern. Victim of a terminal disease, cancer, Dr Ndolo Essele Lyonga is lying helplessly on her sick bed waiting to breathe her last.  She leaves no stone unturned and burns the midnight oil to have a discussion with Mme Besong the woman who stole her beloved husband.

When the so much dreaded encounter finally takes place between the two women, Dr Ndolo Essele Lyonga who was expected to pull the trigger of a Russian rifle to kill the woman who deprived her of her love rather offers peace, her husband and her only son to her rival on a golden platter in the these terms: “when I am gone, take care of them for me. You make Richard happy stay with him”.

This is an explosion of generosity, a sense of concern, the true version of love, not that which is blind to a fault. How many women are ready for such sacrifice, how many would have poured hot water or acid instead, how many would have cursed? How many would have wept or told their son that revenge and the battle should continue till the last drop of blood? The answer is blowing in Dancing Heart.

But for the exceptionally kind- hearted Dr Ndolo Essele Lyonga, life goes on, the way it does for Ebangha and Dimitri in another Dona Forbin’s short story titled “Romantic Terminal” How could he (Dimitri) be sleeping so peacefully? Questioned Ebangha who had a full dose of a sleepless night because in the course of making love to her man friend, I mean boyfriend had an accident with the condom. Infact the Mr.-so-reliable condom, his Excellency-the protector–against sexually transmissible-disease, honourable-avoider of unwanted pregnancy that night lose all its titles because his majesty Mr. condom slipped off Dimitri’s sexual organ, thereby causing unwanted full contact and may be who knows, cause contamination of aids from the infected Ebangha to Dimitri.
  
The dramatic nature of this story lies not in the fact that Ebangha’s husband, Daniel died of HIV/Aids (of course she was infected) but rather on how to break this sad and devastating secret which she kept from Dimitri for three years.

She gathered courage and revealed to her lover that she was HIV positive. To her greatest surprise, Dimitri whom she thought would scream, shout and call her names, break the relationship or simply empty his gun on her head, declared in a soft, assuring, loving, tender and sensual voice that

One: he is aware that Ebangha is HIV positive
Two: that he too is HIV positive  

Only a writer like Dona Forbin has such a pregnant mind which delivers stories dramatically as they are with happy endings but also with fatal conclusions. Such is the case of chief George Arrey Ayuk who unconsciously pushed his son to death not because of hatred but love. In yet another story titled “A Son’s Love” chief Arrey like most of us wanted the best for his son George, a student in America, by asking him to return home to take over from him, inherit the crown and further the dynasty. George Arrey Jr. had a contrary opinion. He was disowned by his father, drove off in car and returned home in a coffin. Both father and son in the metaphysical, this time, discovered mutual love. But it was too late.

Fatal also is the case of Dr. Fotabe in another story “Interrupting Life” who loses his license to practice medicine because he helped Aminatou Ibrahim Amadou to commit abortion.

The stories go on and on. When the reader takes this book into his hand he is in a different world where food, drinks, tv, movies and all other earthly pleasures can wait until completion. Thereafter he is tempted to sue the author for involuntarily depriving him from sleep by writing such a wonderful book. 

“One never knows what he might accomplish until he tries” this Mandngo”s school of thought applies to Dona Fonbin. She discovers her talents because she tries, and her hidden talent now comes out to the lime light. She avoided the annihilating two word phrase which ruins life namely “I can’t” in order to be in line with Barrack Obama‘s philosophy of action “yes I can “

Dona Forbin knows and believes like, you, I and Dale Carnegie that “there is nothing as sad as a man who spends his entire life waiting for his ship to come in when he never sent one out and also that your talent may be enormous, your potential may be great but talent and potential unannounced to the rest of the world is wasted”. She has done just that, announcing her talents in literature to the world.

In her writing, Dona Forbin has a problem with tenses as she mixes past with present tenses in her narrative. But that is her style as she says. This approach makes the book to be charged with electricity, thunder, storm either as an explosion of love or pain. The result is an ejaculation of words loaded with uncontrollable emotions giving the reader the impression that some characters are speaking in tongues or are victims of cerebral malaria. That again is style, unique to the author who cuts across cultural barriers by bringing into the scene names from south to north, east to west. Examples: Ndolo, Esselle, Lyonga, Dr. Oumarou, Elizabeth Ayuk, Besong, Aminatu, Ibrahim Amadou, Dr. Fotabe, Dimitri, Samgwa, Kuna, Mme Abe, Ndedi Ndutu.

The cultural aspects are also portrayed in a deliberate display of delicious mouth watering meals and drinks. For example, “Get up and eat. she called holding a bowl of pepper soup” Ambe poured himself yet another glass of Jack Daniels…the extra helping of snails in the delicious bowl of eru, he (George) ate his dish of bread and stewed white beans…  swallowed some yoghurt and banana… the dish of garri and okro soup with stock fish…

Dancing Heart is a book you should read. Nobody tells the stories the way Dona Forbin does.  Nobody will understand it better than the reader himself. Lessons abound same with the inspirations.