The letter covered many topics such as polygamy, Senegalese class hierarchy, and religion, so it was difficult to place the genre of the book. Some called it a novel while others referred to Bâ's work as a letter.[2]
Author and professor Uzoma Esonwanne interpreted the book as a challenge to colonialism while also acknowledging colonial practices.[3] The character Ramatoulaye's insistence on being heard and providing inside commentary on the downside of polygamy, made Esonwanne question the part gender plays in this new era of the world.
Author and Yale professor Christopher L. Miller found Bâ's So Long a Letter more journal-like, in that it held her written letter with no one answering back.[4]
Literary scholar Abiola Irele called it "the most deeply felt presentation of the female condition in African fiction".[5]
