"Fofombadiko" is, by most accounts, E.D. Andriamalala's most widely read novel and a true monument of Malagasy literature. First published in 1954 and reissued in 1962, 1967, and 1972, it won the country's prestigious Prix Akbaraly in 1972 and has been taught in Malagasy schools for decades. Framed as an extended love letter to a fiancee, the novel tells a singular love story while illuminating the turbulent insurrection of 1947 on Madagascar's east coast and the complex relationships between colonists and rebels. Its inventive epistolary structure and lyrical, nature-steeped Malagasy prose have made it a reference point for generations of Malagasy novelists. In 2020, it became the first Andriamalala novel translated into French, published as "Ma Promise" by Editions Dodo Vole.

Read the novel every Malagasy student grows up with — get your copy of "Fofombadiko" today.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Emilson Daniel Andriamalala (born 1916, Toamasina - died 1979), known by his pen name E.D. Andriamalala, is considered the father of Malagasy literary realism. Educated at the Paul Minault school in Antananarivo, he wrote 18 major novels and essays over his lifetime, several of which remain on the national school and university syllabus. His writing is celebrated for its rich, inventive Malagasy prose, its deep attachment to the island's nature and coastline, and its recurring meditation on love and national identity.

DETAILS

Author: E.D. Andriamalala (Emilson Daniel Andriamalala)

Original title: Fofombadiko

Language: Malagasy

Genre: Novel — romance / historical fiction

First published: 1954 (reissued 1962, 1967, 1972) · Prix Akbaraly, 1972

Publisher: Librairie Mixte, Antananarivo

Format: Paperback

Note: Part of Madagascar's general education curriculum; translated into French as "Ma Promise" (Dodo Vole, 2020)