Culture

The Democratic Republic of Congo by Michael Deibert

The Democratic Republic of Congo: Between Hope and Despair (African Arguments) BY Michael Deibert. Zed Books. Hardcover, 280 pages. $107.
Cover of The Democratic Republic of Congo: Between Hope and Despair (African Arguments)

The cover of Michael Deibert’s examination of Congo bears a striking image of a young woman in flip-flops playing the cello in a bleak, grubby yard surrounded by a bleak, grubby city. She focuses on the notes on a sheet music stand, seemingly oblivious to the potholes and grime and rain-bellied clouds overhead.