“Tokumisa Nzambe po Mose yamoyindo abotami namboka ya Bakoko,” which means “Thanks be to God, the black Moses is born on the earth of our ancestors” in Lingala, is a mouthful for most. Instead, everyone—excluding the priest who christened the titular protagonist and orphan—settles for “Moses” after the biblical character who frees the Israelites, from slavery. To this end, Moses spends his teenage years examining the meaning of his name and how it guides his destiny, if at all.

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