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Links Nuruddin Farah
336 pages
"Mogadiscio had known centuries of attrition: one army leaving death and destruction in its wake, to be replaced by another and another and yet another, all equally destructive ... " (p. 14)
Jeebleh has been living in the United States for many years, and after his mother's death he decides to make a visit to his home country of Somalia. He intends to visit his mother's grave, and help search for a young girl -- a member of his oldest friend BIle's family -- who has gone missing. The novel opens with Jeebleh's arrival at the airport, where he encounters the mysterious Af-Laawe. From these opening moments it is difficult to discern good and evil; to know which characters can be trusted. The tension is palpable, just like day-to-day living in Mogadiscio.
Jeebleh begins to connect with old friends and associates. In addition to Bile, there is Caloosha, his brother, and a violent warlord; Shanta, Bile's sister; Faahiye, her husband; and Raasta, the missing girl and Shanta's daughter. With each encounter he becomes more embroiled in the conflict underpinning the civil war in Somalia, finally admitting, "I'm now part of the story, in that I've taken sides, and made choices that might put my life in danger." (p. 215).
Reading this book, I learned a bit about the civil war in Somalia. However, some aspects of the translation failed to convey the emotion and intensity the author undoubtedly intended. The book is also full of symbolism that I didn't fully grasp: either due to lack of background knowledge, or possibly again a weakness in the translation. (
)Alisia at Book Haven is hosting The Neustadt Challenge this summer. As stated on the challenge post, the Neustadt International Prize for Literature is a biennial award for a body of work by poets, novelists, or playwrights. The prize is not limited by geographic area, language, or genre, and is hosted by the University of Oklahoma and the international literary publication World Literature Today. There are two ways to participate:
WIthout further ado, here's my list:
- Read three books/plays/collection of poetry by one of the authors who have received the award, or
- Read three books by three different authors.
WIthout further ado, here's my list:
Assia Djebar wrote this collection of feminist short fiction to bring forth the voice of Algerian women, repressed by colonialism and partriarchal culture. The stories and one essay were written separately over a period of many years, and published in 1980. The book's title comes from a Delacroix painting depicting a harem, and symbolizing the violation of Algerian women.
I enjoyed a couple of these stories, especially the title work and "The Dead Speak," about the death of an old woman. However, for the most part I had difficulty understanding the deeper meaning and symbolism. An afterword offered some explanation but on the whole this seems to be a book that would best be explored with the help of an expert in the field. (