theshinydiaries

Thirteen Months of Sunrise

📍 Sudan 🇸🇩

Sudan, is one of the poorest countries in Africa, and has been afflicted by repeated revolutions, civil wars and military dictatorships leading to international sanctions and isolation, internal instability and factional violence. Sudan achieved independence on 1st January 1956 from Egyptian and British colonisation. The partition of Sudan happened in 2011 and South Sudan was formed in July 2011. The war in Darfur was a major armed conflict in Sudan from 2003 to 2020, akin to a genocide, leading to hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties and deaths, brutal rapes and various other horrific human rights violations.

This novella, my pick for Women in Translation Month, is an anthology of short stories, set in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. These stories offer a contemporary outlook on Sudan but often replete with the issues plaguing Sudanese people such as poverty, insecurity and safety. The first story, titled ‘Thirteen months of Sunrise’, is about a bittersweet friendship between a Sudanese woman and an Ethiopian man; also why Ethiopia has thirteen months! The other stories that stood out were, ‘A woman asleep on her Bundle’, that spoke about a woman’s benevolence despite her abject poverty and hence forced ostracism; ‘Stray Steps’, that portrayed a diabetic woman’s ordeal with hunger and hypoglycaemia and how stray dogs come to her rescue; and ‘Doors’, a story about an unemployed man’s hope of securing a job only to be left despondent and indignant.

Rania Mamoun is a Sudanese fiction writer and journalist, known for her novels, poems and short stories. The book which has been translated from Arabic into English by Elisabeth Jaquette, won the Pen Translates Award in 2017 and was also shortlisted for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation 2020.

The ongoing civil war that began during Ramadan on 15th April, 2023, between the two rival factions of the military government of Sudan, has been concentrated around the capital city of Khartoum and the Darfur region. The country is facing one of the most severe humanitarian crises in recent history. According to the UN, UNHCR and Amnesty International; over 18,800 people have been killed; 6.7 million are at risk of gender-based violence, particularly women and girls; 755k people are on the brink of famine and 25.6 million people are in acute hunger that includes more than 8.5 million people facing emergency levels of hunger. Over 10 million people have been forced to flee their homes both within the country and across its borders; out of which over 7.7 million are internally displaced persons; as the devastating civil war heads for its 500th day.

Sudan, Gaza, DR Congo, Burkina Faso, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Yemen, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Haiti, Manipur. The world in 2024.

~ JUST A GAY BOY. 😞

The Mystery Guest

Molly Gray is back. She’s socially awkward, fails to understand the world around her, misses the obvious, has a keen eye for the unobvious and has a flair for the English language. She’s now the Head Maid at the Regency Grand Hotel, has a loving relationship with her boyfriend Juan and has again become entangled in another scandalous murder. J. D. Grimthorpe, an award winning mystery writer, is supposed to make a big announcement and has booked the hotel’s Tea room for the event. The room is packed to the rafters with journalists, media professionals, photographers and eager fan club members. Grimthorpe takes the stage, sips his tea on stage and drops dead. Lily, a maid-in-training under Molly was responsible for arranging his tea cart and had handed him the tea in front of everyone. Detective Stark is tasked with solving this mystery and again Molly becomes her unlikely partner.

It’s a very simple murder mystery and the author presents various characters as suspects including Grimthorpe’s secretary, Serena Sharpe; Hotel’s manager Mr. Snow and even Mr. Preston, the kind grandfather figure in the life of Molly who continues to dote on her. The happenings in the book are fast paced and this time around the author provides substantial backstory on Molly’s childhood growing up with her Gran. Molly continues to fight the social odds stacked against her and with her grit, perseverance, unassuming intelligence and cheeky wit cracks this murder too.

For all those who have read Nita Prose’s debut book, The Maid, which for the first time introduced us to Molly, this second book, doesn’t disappoint. Through Molly, the author drives home the message that, everybody deserves to be seen and no one should be underestimated because of their appearance or background. Nita has created a world of hope and optimism, while Molly brings in the beauty in her oddity.

Heartwarming, once again!

Kairos

📍 Germany 🇩🇪

Katharina is a nineteen year old girl living in East Berlin. Hans is a fifty plus gentleman, a novelist and working for a local broadcaster, also living in East Berlin. The year is 1986. The Berlin Wall is intact. Katharina and Hans have a romantic meet cute and soon start dating each other. She gets completely besotted with Hans and turns a blind eye to his behaviours and transgressions. Hans is a married man and has a son. He has various extramarital relationships while being married to Ingrid. Katharina is aware of his philandering ways but is too consumed by his charm, his sex appeal, his taste in music, art and books to even subconsciously register it as a concern. When Katharina goes away to Frankfurt an der Oder for a year, for a theatre internship, she develops a close friendship with her colleague Vadim. He has feelings for Katharina and after multiple romantic and sexual advances from his side, one fine day, they end up having sex. Through one of the loose pages of her diary, Hans finds out about this affair and mayhem ensues.

Hans is mortified by Katharina’s behaviour and leaves no stone unturned in punishing her. He emotionally abuses her, threatens to end the relationship and even violates her sexually. He periodically records his disdain and hatred for her as cassettes, both sides, 60 minutes each and expects her to answer him. The verbal abuse meted out through these recordings is excruciating. Katharina continues to soothe his chauvinism and misplaced anger by dutifully listening to these recordings, genuinely begging for his forgiveness, despite the repeated attacks on her character and morality. The relentless oppression makes Katharina question the love if it exists between them, even forcing her to self censor at times, but is never able to end the relationship. She continues to suffer because she feels, she deserves it and Hans continues with his torture routine, because he believes, she deserves it.

At the same time, Germany is in the midst of the Cold War. The tensions between East and West Berlin continue to escalate. The political situation becomes volatile and chaotic leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Soon after the fall, it almost seems like an erasure of East Berlin as the West with its wealth and capitalism takes over, leaving no traces of what was once before, the people and the city. These developments run parallel to Katharina and Hans’ relationship, being metaphorical at times; creating an atmosphere of foreboding and unease.

This isn’t a love story, but a story about control. Hans wanted total control over Katharina’s mind and body under the garb of love, but the moment it faltered, control easily metamorphosed into misogyny and toxic masculinity, also under the garb of love. Katharina is groomed by Hans since the beginning of the relationship and because of her tender age and his towering seniority gets moulded into believing the necessity for her suffering because of her indiscretion, prompting acquiescence. At some point, as a reader, you wonder if Katharina wanted to sabotage herself and her happiness by being in this relationship. She represents millions of women worldwide who suffer through such sexist bullying and exploitation, because they aren’t aware of their worth, and of a life outside of emotional captivity.

Jenny Erpenbeck, a prolific German author and opera director, is the first German writer to win the International Booker Prize for Kairos, which is also the first novel originally written in German to win the award. Kairos has been written with a lot of consideration for German politics, the history and the societal structure of East and West Berlin. The book also makes a poignant case for ‘love bombing’ and ‘breadcrumbing’ in relationships. Erpenbeck takes us on Katharina’s traumatic journey of abuse without sugarcoating it. As a reader, you squirm and feel frustrated for Katharina and I wondered, if she felt ennui in Hans’ narcissism. Music, art and theatre play a significant part of the narrative and the author delves deep into them through conversations between the protagonists. Michael Hofmann, a German poet and translator, who shared the International Booker Prize with Erpenbeck, has done an exacting translation of the original.

Kairos is a multilayered sensory experience. The story and the politics kept me intrigued and exasperated simultaneously. Chopin’s Nocturne and Polonaise seem perfect for part one of the book, while Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier and Goldberg Variations blend in seamlessly with the second and Mozart’s Symphony is the ideal score for the climax. Read the book with these musical masterpieces in the background! I am definitely doing a reread.

~ JUST A GAY BOY. 👏

The Many That I Am : Writings from Nagaland

📍 Nagaland

Nagaland has been mired in political turmoil and various occupations. From the British to the Japanese and the Indian state, the Nagas have suffered violence and persecution. Hence, there isn’t much literature from those troubled times. However, they do have a rich tradition of oral literature, history and culture passed down through word of mouth from generation to generation. It’s only after the formation of Nagaland statehood in 1963 that some writings started appearing. By the turn of the century is when the dawn of writing in Nagaland truly began.

This book is an anthology of short stories, personal essays and poems interspersed with painting prints. What makes this book compelling is that all of the writers and artists are women, and it has equal space for contemporary and debutantes alongside prominent, established writers such as Temsula Ao, Easterine Kire and Avinuo Kire.

The writings essentially reflect the issues plaguing Naga society and Naga women. Patriarchy is the biggest social evil and most of the essays and poems portray its intergenerational traumatic consequences due to the abject denial of its existence. The poems, I wish you were a man by Abokali Jimoni, I just hate and NoNoNo woman by rōzumarī raṁsāra, are poetic lashings at the rigid patriarchal constructs and how women are now walking away from them. The story, My Mother’s Daughter by Neikehienuo Mepfhüo, brings about the widely prevalent but silenced epidemic of domestic violence; which when unchallenged becomes the norm of a woman’s lived experience. The power to forgive by Avinuo Kire, is a gut wrenching story on rape and what happens when righteous anger, hatred and the decision to forgive are taken away from the victim. Many of the stories depict the sense of belonging that Nagas have for their land and their peoples. Martha’s mother by Hekali Zhimoni was a stand out story for the sheer wit, resilience and composure shown by the mother when faced with an emotionally volatile predicament.

Anungla Zoe Longkumer is a writer, musician and filmmaker, based in Dimapur, Nagaland. Through this genre defying book, she has unleashed the creative pursuits of Naga women writers and has presented to the world the glorious literature from Nagaland that is steeped in folklore and continues to challenge myths, traditions and our collective consciousness.

~ JUST A GAY BOY. 😇

Wild Geese

Wild Geese, written by trans writer, Soula Emmanuel; the 2024 Lambda Literary Awards winner for Transgender Fiction; is a vivid exploration of the complexities of human existence, especially when people refuse to conform to their societal perceptions. Phoebe Forde, is a thirty year old Irish trans woman, three years into her transition, pursuing her PhD from a Swedish University and living in Copenhagen, Denmark. She leaves Ireland to chart a new life for her as a trans woman, and to escape from a life that was no longer serving her. She is living a pretty nondescript life in Copenhagen with her dog, when suddenly one day, her ex girlfriend Grace, shows up at her doorstep.

The book is essentially what happens between Phoebe and Grace over one weekend. Their past lives, their individual and shared traumas, their anger and insecurities, their contemplations about a blurry future get sometimes muddled, sometimes real and many times jarring in the present, as they speak unfiltered, not shying from the awkwardness of each other’s presence, yet getting caught in the awkwardness of their truth and lies, things said and unsaid, emotions discerned and disregarded, leading to an incongruence of expectations and a cacophony of explicit suppositions often blanketed by a symphony of territorial understanding.

Phoebe comes across as a very real person having the rightful fears and anxieties about her existence so much so that, she prefers anonymity. The author sensitively and sensibly portrays her experience as a trans woman without making it a spectacle ever. Phoebe isn’t out there to challenge people’s beliefs and wage a war against transphobia, rather through her confusions and complications, shows her authenticity, vulnerability and reality. Even when Grace, with her preconceived notions provokes Phoebe, she prefers to remain calm and engages her in an esoteric debate over bodies, minds and belongingness.

The writer, Soula Emmanuel, an Irish trans woman, whose debut work is Wild Geese, has used the book as a meditative consideration on a trans person’s lived experience. It is quiet, benevolent and benign. Soula tactfully never tries to answer all the questions that readers may have about Phoebe. Through her nuanced writing, she emphatically states that trans lives are not for scrutiny and examination. The dreamy Copenhagen forms the perfect backdrop to stage Phoebe and Grace’s chance rendezvous. However, there were times, wherein I felt, the prose to be too metaphorical and the language difficult. The conversations between Phoebe and Grace are easy to read, but Phoebe’s internal monologue seems demanding in terms of the language. My pedantic views shouldn’t really stop anyone from picking this profoundly glorious book. An astute, unambiguous, unapologetic and forthright voice in Trans literature. Bravo Soula!

~ JUST A GAY BOY. 🏳️‍⚧️

And Then He Sang A Lullaby

📍 Nigeria 🇳🇬

My pick for Pride Month is a searingly honest and often heartbreaking story of two gay men finding love and themselves in a country that is decidedly against them. August Akasike, whose mother dies while giving birth to him, is often tormented by the same fact and considers her foolish for going ahead with the pregnancy despite the doctor’s warnings. He lives in Enugu and has three older sisters who dote on him and mollycoddle his every action and achievement. They along with an emotionally indifferent father entrust him with the responsibility of protecting the Akasike family name. However, August who is a phenomenal track star, is naturally attracted towards men and often admonishes himself in the harshest way possible for even having these thoughts. Despite the strong self reluctance in wanting to engage in sex with men, he does have a few dalliances, which end up causing him extreme emotional turmoil, so much so that in University he tries having a relationship with a girl, Betty, until he meets Segun.

Segun, who lives in Iyana-Ipaja near Lagos, is the only child to a fierce mother and an impassive father. His body language and gesticulations which get perceived as being “effeminate” attract teasing, bullying and even assaults from a very young age. Tanko, his first boyfriend, gaslights him, physically manipulates and harms him until Tanko himself becomes a victim of homophobic attack. His other failed relationships and random sexual encounters make him cynical of love. He refuses to be discreet and starts living openly as a queer man, picking up fights, and being borderline reckless in his defiance. He wants his partner to be as open as him until he meets August.

Segun and August meet at the University in Enugu and despite their reservations regarding each other, fall in love. At the beginning of their relationship, August is secretive and ashamed of their affair. This irks Segun to no end and they have multiple heated arguments over it. Later, a brutal mob attack on Segun at his hostel, changes him completely. The once bold and rebellious Segun becomes submissive and docile. He loses his will to live and to fight. This prompts almost a role reversal and August becomes the new rebel; comes out to his bewildered sisters and his peers, inviting contempt. However, nothing that he does, is able to shake Segun out of his despair.

The author, Ani Kayode Somtochukwu, is a Nigerian writer and a prominent LGBTQ+ activist who is known for his advocacy and criticism of anti-LGBTQ+ laws. This book, his debut work, published at the age of 23, is a purely African queer story and Nigeria remains the front and center of it. As the story unfolds, the author simultaneously introduces us to the political scenario in his country and the rising hostility towards queer people. Some of the striking moments in the book are about the Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan signing into law the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act in 2014, to cheers from a largely homophobic society and disputes between August and Segun. But the real beauty of the book lies in the way, Somtochukwu has written his characters. They are as real as it gets, brimming with temerity and perseverance but also being flawed in their own ignorant way. The tender moments between August and Segun are affirming and written with so much consideration. August’s love for Segun is all encompassing and immersive yet helpless. Ani Kayode has written with such empathy that never overburdens the reader. His prose is exacting in the grimness of the realities faced by August and Segun and still offering a vague semblance of mundanity to their romance. His depiction of sexual scenes is exemplary and one where in other writers could take notes from. Kudos to him for championing compelling themes of internalised homophobia, closeted gays, emotional and physical violence in gay relationships with the requisite sensitivity and nuance. This story is truly a lullaby, a lullaby you will hum long after you finish reading it, reminiscing August and Segun and their love which was never meant to be.

As I write this, LGBTQIA+ individuals are criminalised in Nigeria and various states of the country have extremely harsh laws for the same. In fact, worldwide 64 countries criminalise homosexuality as of 2024. In 12 countries, the death penalty is imposed. Here, in our country, we may have decriminalised article 377, but LGBTQ+ individuals still remain second class citizens with no equal rights. I wonder, how long would it take for others to see us as humans? How many lives need to be lost, and hopes to be crushed for a positive change to happen?

Happy Pride indeed!

~ JUST A GAY BOY. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Afakasi Woman

📍 Samoa 🇼🇸

May was Pacific Islander Heritage Month and this book, Afakasi Woman, was my pick for it. In fact, it’s my first time reading literature from Oceania and Pacific Islands. There are 13 (? 12) Pacific Islands countries and Samoa is one of them. Samoa is a picturesque island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean, known for its vibrant culture, lush landscapes, and welcoming people. It consists of two main islands, Upolu and Savai’i, along with several smaller islands. The capital city, Apia, is situated on Upolu, which is also the most populous island. Samoa has a rich history that dates back over 3,000 years. Samoan culture, known as Fa’a Samoa, emphasizes community, family, and respect for tradition.

Afakasi is the Samoan transliteration for half-caste meaning half Samoan and half of any other ethnicity, mostly European. Palagi in Samoan language usually refers to white foreigners of European or American descent. This book is a collection of short stories from the point of view of an Afakasi woman. Through these stories, the author effortlessly offers us a glimpse of the strong Samoan culture, their language, their food and even their idiosyncrasies and morally ambiguous traits. The stories, some of which are witty and humorous, while a few are dark and brooding, talk about contemporary issues plaguing the Samoan society at large. The story, Afakasi woman, spoke about the silent discrimination that palagi women face in Samoa despite the obsession of Samoans with white skin. The story, Don’t tell, spoke about child sexual abuse by the stepfather and how the family still rallied around the accused while the victim faced social ostracism. Another story, Red Hibiscus – A Fairytale, also spoke about child sexual abuse at the hands of the pastor and how the grandmother avenges the crime. Each of the story is poignant and contemplative highlighting the perils of abuse, neglect, patriarchy and chauvinism.

The author, Lani Wendt Young, is a Samoan/ Maori woman who specialises in YA fantasy, modern romance and literary fiction; and has written 15 books till date. This book, Afakasi Woman, has won a Storylines Notable Book Award and was also short listed in the NZ Book Awards for Young Adults.

In our country too, we dismiss victims of sexual abuse; especially children, who are discouraged and punitively dealt with, if at all they come forth with their trauma. Victims often are subjugated to invasive scrutiny, their traumas invalidated and gaslighted. On the contrary, the perpetrators of the crime always get the benefit of doubt and the entire family and sometimes the country and the government continue to protect them. Well, suddenly Samoa and India feel so similar, no?

~ JUST A GAY BOY. 🙂

The Other Valley

Odile Ozanne lives in a small town which is actually a valley, surrounded by mountains and barbed wire borders. To her right is the same town twenty years into the future. To her left is the same town twenty years into the past. And the valleys keep repeating on either side. The movement between these towns and essentially through time is strictly controlled by the Conseil who invite and review petitions from people who wish to travel to the east or west. The borders are also patrolled by the patrol guards, gendarmerie. The book begins with sixteen year old Odile trying hard to get through the vetting program for being a member of the Conseil. Her intelligence shines through the vetting process and she starts getting noticed by the more popular kids from the school. She starts hanging out with them and develops feelings for one of the boys, Edme. But one day she notices people from afar, looking like Edme’s parents, but older, arousing a suspicion in her that they maybe visiting from the east or Est 1, which also means that there is a strong likelihood of something terrible happening to Edme. What does Odile do next?

The second part of the book introduces us to thirty six year old Odile. A lot has happened and she finds herself in a thankless job, a job that she does in an autopilot mode. The relationship with her mother is distraught, her friendships seem ambiguous and loneliness seems to be her only steadfast companion. Circumstances hit the proverbial rock bottom and Odile decides to do the unimaginable prompted by strong emotions from her past.

The Canadian author, Scott Alexander Howard, takes us on this science fiction, time travel story which is unlike any other. People in the story do not hop across timelines and the author explains the protocols for doing so in the right way and the consequences when not done correctly. I had a difficult time trying to orient myself to the organisation of the valleys and imagining how would Odile’s world actually look like. Time in this book is never absolute but always relative to the other valley. A lot of the narrative is spent on Odile’s internal struggles and her going about the mundane. Very little happens in the book, especially in the second part. The writing is tedious particularly when the author talks about the valleys and the time zones. He never spells it out completely and for the most part it becomes a guessing game. Also the protagonist Odile comes across as unlikeable due to her brooding and one dimensional persona and at times appears inconsequential to the story. None of the other characters make an impact either.

The Other Valley is a very unique story and kudos to the author for writing this as his debut work. I tried very hard to love this book but all through I felt shortchanged. Not that I dislike it or wouldn’t recommend it but the book could have been taut with some much needed edits. Despite my grudges, I would still call it a complex and cerebral read.

~ JUST A GAY BOY. 🥸

Homegoing

Yaa Gyasi’s monumental epic is a story that talks about slavery. From the days when slave trade was legal, to the days when it became a crime. It’s a multigenerational saga that carries the trauma of slavery through every generation, relives with every birth. It starts in the seventeenth century in Asanteland, along the Gold Coast of West Africa, and follows the bloodlines of two women Effia and Esi, unknown to each other, but connected through their mother Maame. The author takes us on a grippingly astute narrative through the seven generations of Effia and Esi. She brilliantly alternates between Effia and Esi’s families, through the various characters who become different chapters in the book. However, each of the chapter and character introduces us to the then geopolitical scenario and takes us a breathtaking journey as we pass through centuries. Every character is powerful despite the powerlessness of their existence. Every tale is poignant despite the numbness that accompanies it.

Yaa Gyasi describes the horrors of slave trade and the perils of living life as a black person as is. As we struggle to read the words, Gyasi makes it even more stark. Esi’s life in the slave dungeons is a putrid narrative of living alongside death, disease and human secretions. Ness’s story is about her life as a black slave woman in Alabama. H and Sonny’s tales are about black men in America who have suffered wrongful incarceration and become committed to a life full of wrong choices and consequences. Sonny and Amani Zulema’s questionable love track is steeped in doom, drugs and heartache. Kojo narrates his desperation as new slave laws come into force in Baltimore and despite being a free man, he feels enslaved and a criminal. Gyasi acquaints us with the civil war in America, the inhumane coal mines of Birmingham, the brutality of colorism and racism, and the romance of the discovery of cocoa in Ghana. Melancholy never leaves the page, as does despondency that never leaves the souls of the characters.

Homegoing creates an ache in your heart and soul which remains unshakeable long after you have finished reading it. Gyasi hasn’t written a story to soothe us, instead it jolts us out of our slumber. She presents us a history that has been wiped out, is being criminalised when talked about and unflinchingly demonstrates the ugliness of its ramifications. Her writing is confident and reverberating with tenacity. Her masterly craft shines through as she takes us on this journey from Asante villages to present day Ghana and America. The idea for Homegoing came to her during the summer of her sophomore year. At the age of 26, this stellar historical fiction was her debut work. Every character in the book is fleshed out and has been wronged. Every story is raw and imprinted with grief and violence. Homegoing is the undeniable truth about slavery and how it trickles through generations despite outwardly freedom. Gyasi is its authentic voice.

Compulsory read!

~ JUST A GAY BOY. 👏

The Fury

Alex Michaelides’s, “The Silent Patient”, has been my favourite psychological thrillers of all times. His next book, “The Maidens”, was good too but didn’t match his debut work. “The Fury” is his third book and I was eagerly awaiting its release. To say I was disappointed with it would be an understatement. For the most part it didn’t feel like Alex’s work. It felt as if an overbearing, overindulgent and arrogant writer has written this shoddy story masquerading as a thriller, who is supremely confident that his readers will like it no matter how abysmal the plot is.

As far as the story goes, it’s about this famous Hollywood star, Lana Farrar who goes on this impromptu trip to an isolated Greek island along with her second husband Jason, her friends Kate and Elliot, her son Leo and her assistant Agathi. One of them gets murdered on the island and the rest of the story is about finding the killer. The narration is lethargic and it takes forever for events to unfold. Also, the writer has deployed one of the characters as the storyteller who takes you on this never ending journey and keeps dangling the proverbial carrot of something exciting and unexpected to happen, in front of us readers; only that it’s never as what is promised. I have to say, the narrator is irritating, irrelevant at times and nauseatingly pompous. Lana is the most boring one dimensional character I have ever read. So are the rest, mostly brimming with one particular emotion for the entire narrative. I also wondered why is everyone acting the way they did; what is prompting them to be so unlikeable and monotonous. The climax is extremely make believe, stretched beyond imagination and utterly implausible. What happened to Alex Michaelides?

Some people are one time wonders. If that is the case, swallow that tough pill and stay put. Don’t write a fury!

~ JUST A GAY BOY. 😖😠