The Columbia Public Library will be hosting a reading and book-signing by Donato Ndongo, author of the novel "Shadows of Your Black Memory." This book has been translated from the original Spanish by MU Spanish professor and PW member Michael Ugarte.

Following in the footsteps of Chinua Achebe, a new voice emerges in African post-colonial literature. Set during the last years of Spanish rule in Equatorial Guinea, Shadows of Your Black Memory presents a young man's coming-of-age story against the backdrop of a nation moving toward a troubled independence. Donato Ngongo masterfully exposes the cultural fissures of his native land. Michael Ugarte's sensitive translation captures the spirit of the original Spanish prose and makes Ndongo's powerful, gripping tale available to English-speaking readers for the first time. Donato Ndongo is visiting scholar in the Department of Romance Languages at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Michael Ugarte is professor of Spanish at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Copies of the book will be made available by the Peace Nook at a 20 percent discount.