Short Synopsis
Full of wit, music, and a rollicking cast of characters, The Villain's Dance shows Fiston Mwanza Mujila is back with a bang.

Full Synopsis
Finalist for the 2024 National Book Award for Translated Literature

Full of wit, music, and a rollicking cast of characters, The Villain's Dance shows Fiston Mwanza Mujila is back with a bang.

Zaire. Late 90's. Mobutu's thirty-year reign is tottering. In Lubumbashi, the stubbornly homeless Sanza has fallen in with a trio of veteran street kids led by the devious Ngungi. A chance encounter with the mysterious Monsieur Guillaume seems to offer a way out . . . Meanwhile in Angola, Molakisi has joined thousands of fellow Zairians hoping to make their fortunes hunting diamonds, while Austrian Franz finds himself roped into writing the memoirs of the charismatic Tshiamuena, the "Madonna of the Cafunfo Mines." Things are drawing to a head, but at the Mambo de la Fête, they still dance the Villain's Dance from dusk till dawn.

"Abdullah's nuanced delivery highlights the contrasting lives of these and other characters, conveying the tension and urgency of the era. His pacing and vocal shifts bring clarity to the sprawling narrative, ensuring each setting and character is distinct." ---AudioFile

"Stage/film actor Abdullah tirelessly ciphers the characters' frenetic energy, managing to distinguish multiple main characters with seamless ease, instantly adjusting genders, ages, accents, situations. . . . Abdullah impressively embodies all the young men and their tenacious, uncertain posturing, each hoping to survive into tomorrow." ---Terry Hong, Booklist