In Memoirs of a Porcupine, a hilarious novel, published in May 2011 by Serpent’s Tail, the Congo-Brazzaville-born author Alain Mabanckou brilliantly wraps the vibrant rhythm of the African oral tradition in a corrosive and sarcastic style. His pulsating, hard-headed writing – the book does not count a single full stop – mixed with a plot worthy of the best crime fiction results in a true “beat” that leaves its reader breathless and dazzled. Subtly mocking almost everything he can, from the lasting influence of custom in African societies to the allegedly emancipating European science, Mabanckou offers a metaphoric tale that gives food for thought – only once the last laugh has faded.