"I do my best to make appreciating noises, but giant snails and fish guts get stuck in my throat. It's not only that I secretly find this meal slightly dreadful, but the tales accompanying it are bruising my consciousness. Narrating them is my host Abdullah, the father of six young children. When French-backed rebel forces entered Abidjan, he had four. The insurgents took everything there was to take from his house. Beat him up. Raped his wife in front of him. And proceeded to win the war against the prior government..."