M.A. (French) / The novel, in Zalre, is proliferating despite the economic difficulties of the country. Popular writing, in particular, consisting of shortish books and selling for very reasonable prices, has become something of a phenomenon. The leader of that market, not studied here, is Zamenga. The two works chosen, Mais les pieges eieien: de la fete of Bwabwa wa Kayembe M. (1988) and Train des malheurs by Tshibanda Wamuela Bujitu (1990) illustrate a category of writing that reflects daily realities without making emotional demands on the reader. The heroes are virtuous, and there is a happy ending. A type of novel we have called intermediate makes more demands on the reader, and is particularly less simplistic as to its moral. Kin-Ia-joie Kin-la-folie by the journalist Achille Ngoye (1993) strike a chord of fellow feeling in the heart of . anyone struggling to live in Kinshasa and aware of the undercurrents of crime. The happy ending allows the reader to indulge in fairly deep reflection, or simply to close the book with pleasure. Le fils de la tribu by Pius Ngandu (1983) is much more troubling, unless the reader enjoys the beauty of a tragic ending. Above all, no reader can fail to reflect on the underlyirig-tl'!essage, Ngandu's plea for the· brotherhood of tribes and a cessation of the fratricidal wars ravaging Africa. The last text, Le bel immonde by V.Y. Mudimbe (1976) takes the reader into a category of much denser story-writing, and finds once again that the reader is not able to read without reflecting on the implications of what he has read.