All human beings, says an African legend, have an animal double. Some are benign, others wicked. When Kibandi, a boy living in a Congolese village, reaches the age of eleven, his father takes him out into the night, and forces him to drink a vile liquid from a jar which has been hidden for years in the earth. This is his initiation.

From now on he, and his double, a porcupine, become accomplices in murder. They attack neighbours, fellow villagers, people who simply cross their path. Throughout his life Kibandi relies on his double to act out his grizzly compulsions, until one day even the porcupine baulks, and turns instead to literary confession.

Finalist for the Man Booker International Prize 2015

Outlandish, surreal and compelling, a murderous porcupine tells all:

'For years I was the double of Kibandi . . . He died the day before yesterday, so here is my confession'

All human beings, says an African legend, have an animal double. Some are benign, others wicked.

When Kibandi, a boy living in a Congolese village, reaches the age of eleven, his father takes him out into the night, and forces him to drink a vile liquid from a jar which has been hidden for years in the earth. This is his initiation and, from this point on, he, and his double, a porcupine, become murderers, attacking neighbours, fellow villagers, and anyone unfortunate enough to cross their path.

But now Kibandi is dead, and the porcupine, free of his master, is free to tell their story at last.