Jadelin Gangbo

Jadelin Mabiala Gangbo is a Congolese-born writer of fiction who lives and writes in Italy and the United Kingdom. He is best known for his novels Verso la Notte Bakonga (1999) and Due volte (2009), and for his recent book Ground (2024), which explores migration, memory, and fractured family histories. He is the recipient of the Eks&Tra literary award for migrant writers.

Gangbo was born in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, in 1976. At the age of four, he moved to Italy, growing up between the cities of Imola and Bologna. His early experiences as a migrant informed his literary focus on cultural identity and belonging. He writes in Italian and has published both short stories and novels.

His first novel, Verso la Notte Bakonga (1999), presents Italian society through the eyes of a young man of Bakongo heritage, born in Congo but raised in Italy. The book reflects on identity as it is reshaped by history, language, and place. His second novel, Rometta e Giulieo (2001), was published by Feltrinelli. It was followed by Una congrega di falliti (2008) and Due volte (2009).

Due volte follows twin brothers growing up in a religious institute while their father is in prison. The story contrasts the brothers' experiences of Catholic philosophy, teenage love, and cultural duality in 1980s Italy. The narrative weaves together characters such as single mothers, priests, gypsies, and local youth, offering a detailed social portrait of the period.

In Ground (2024), Gangbo returns to themes of family and separation. The novel opens with a house fire in rural Italy. Seven children are left unsupervised while their parents are in Africa with other siblings. The fire becomes a symbol of the disintegration of family ties. Decades later, one of those children, Redesof, lives in London and works as an acupuncturist. From his balcony in Hackney, he speaks with his neighbour Telma and tries to make sense of his history. His story moves between Congo, Italy, and the UK, connecting personal memory to the broader experience of displacement.

Jadelin Gangbo currently lives in East London.

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