This was as brilliant as That Reminds Me. In this book Derek Owusu honors his mother, who immigrated to England from Ghana, and the ‘aunties’ who suppThis was as brilliant as That Reminds Me. In this book Derek Owusu honors his mother, who immigrated to England from Ghana, and the ‘aunties’ who supported one another.
No one writes like Owusu. Reading his poetic collage of memories, conversations, and feelings is like trying to see an object in the dark: you can’t look directly at the object, you look to side, you look above, and you allow the image to appear in your mind and what Derek Owusu conjures is heartfelt, moving, and lovely. This is the kind of book that gets better each time it is read.
This was an exceptional book. Blending the Greek classic The Iliad with Cuba’s intervention in Angola Marcial Gala and translator Anna Kushner tell thThis was an exceptional book. Blending the Greek classic The Iliad with Cuba’s intervention in Angola Marcial Gala and translator Anna Kushner tell the story of Rauli, a slightly built effeminate boy, trying to survive in the machismo culture of 1970s Cuba and then the military. Rauli is fair skinned with blond hair and blue eyes, he is sensitive, intelligent, and loves books, especially The Iliad. His gentle nature repels his father and older brother and draws the attention of closeted homosexuals, but Rauli seems to be a dispassionate observer in his own life. Rauli believes that his life is such because he is Cassandra, daughter of Priam and Hecuba. Like Cassandra, Rauli is pretty and chaste, like Cassandra he is given the gift of foresight and he can see the dead, but like Cassandra, no one takes him seriously. Rauli moves through life with Athena’s guidance and Apollo’s disdain, he remembers the fall of Troy, and he knows that he will die and that his body will stay in the old world.
An exploration of identity, fate, and toxic masculinity with exceptional writing that gives the book, even the most brutal passages, a dream like quality. I loved this book and I highly recommend it....more
Samuel has spent the decades since his release from 25 yrs as a political prisoner, living a solitary life on an island tending to the lighthouse; wheSamuel has spent the decades since his release from 25 yrs as a political prisoner, living a solitary life on an island tending to the lighthouse; when a body washes ashore, alive this time, of a young man who does not speak Samuel’s language, Samuel is thrown into crisis. As Samuel relives the years of violent revolutions in his unnamed country, remembering his cowardice and humiliations, his paranoia grows.
This political allegory is tightly written with slowly building tension. I highly recommend it and also recommend trying to read it in one sitting....more
**spoiler alert** This is the tragic story of a real life murder in the diverse Tiger's Bay neighborhood on the docks of Cardiff, Wales, that resulted**spoiler alert** This is the tragic story of a real life murder in the diverse Tiger's Bay neighborhood on the docks of Cardiff, Wales, that resulted in a miscarriage of justice for Mahmood Mattan, a Somali sailor who, married with three young sons, struggled to make a life for his family.
Nadifa Mohamed created a sense of the poverty and difficulties of post-war Tiger's Bay, but also the colors, sounds, and scents of its many nationalities and religions, the shops, kitchens, places of worship, and shared ceremonies.
Mohamed so successfully brings to life Mahmood, his wife Laura, Violet, her sister Diane, and young niece Grace before their fates all merged the awful night of Violet's murder that I was moved to tears by both the death of Violet and Mahmood.
I highly recommend this novel and look forward to reading more books by Nadifa Mohamed....more
I read this because it made the 2021 Booker Longlist and I loved it.
I would direct readers to the review written by But_i_thought for a thorough, insI read this because it made the 2021 Booker Longlist and I loved it.
I would direct readers to the review written by But_i_thought for a thorough, insightful review. It is so good there is nothing I can add so I will simply say that I enjoyed the floating narrative voice that shifts focus mid-paragraph, sometimes mid-sentence, it is what hooked me in the beginning when I wasn’t sure if I would like the book or not, and that I felt Galgut’s writing got better as the story progressed so that by about half way through I sensed shades of Saramago in the way Galgut spoke directly to the reader at times.
It is not necessary to be well versed in contemporary South African politics, but it helps to know a bit about the Land Expropriation without Compensation issue.
Set in 1960’s Tripoli a lonely young Arab boy is still allowed in the realms of women: his mother, grandmother, aunts, and their friends. Through thisSet in 1960’s Tripoli a lonely young Arab boy is still allowed in the realms of women: his mother, grandmother, aunts, and their friends. Through this boy we hear the complaints, the hopes, the fantasies, and dreams of women in a patriarchal society.
It’s not among my favorite Peirene Press novellas, but it’s still a good book....more
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