Tag: #bookblogger

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. 😖😠

Gaza Weddings

Life in Gaza is unpredictable. Hope and desire is fickle too. So what does it take to plan a wedding in Gaza then? Ibrahim Nasrallah’s book talks about the irony of having a wedding in the midst of bombs and death. He uses dark humour, sarcasm and stark realism to convey the misery and hopelessness that abound life for Gazans. Through the two protagonists, Amna and Randa, the book provides a cataclysmic account of Palestinians in Gaza under the Israeli occupation.

Randa, is an aspiring journalist, who’s identical twin sister, Lamis is in a courtship with Amna’s son Saleh. In the book, Amna keeps talking to her husband who’s in hiding while Randa talks to the readers directly. Death is so commonplace in Gaza that no family is unknown to its horrors and the brutality of the occupation. Amna is bereft after she hears about the suspected death of her husband but is unable to identify him since it’s so badly disfigured. Saleh is unable to process his father’s martyrdom and becomes emotionally unstable. Towards the end, the story depicts the death of one of the twin sisters. We never know who is dead.

Ibrahim’s writing is part lyrical, part biting. Death, tears and sadness form the canvas on which he paints the precarious lives of Palestinians. Bittersweet reminiscences and pervasive foreboding become everyday nuances for Amna and Randa. Joy and laughter feel misplaced and unnatural when there’s grief lurking at every turn. Ibrahim Nasrallah is a Palestinian writer, poet, artist and photographer with an extensive body of work and has been the winner of the Arabic Booker Prize in 2018. The book has been translated into English by Nancy Roberts who is known for her translations of Arabic literature.

As of 13th March, 2024, 31,200 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and more than 72,800 have been injured since Israel began the genocide on October 7th, 2023. There’s no life in Gaza literally. Those who have survived the bombs and Israel’s ethnic cleansing, are now starving to death. The current day Holocaust is going unchecked and unabated as the world continues to look the other way. How are we ever going to face ourselves in the future? For how many years will Israel and its comrades, especially the United States, will have to beg for forgiveness? Should they ever be forgiven then?

~ JUST A GAY BOY. 😞

Dudiya: In your burning land

Read a Kitaab, reading community’s February month’s #readingindiachallenge was dedicated to Chhattisgarh and my pick was Vishwas Patil’s Dudiya. Written originally in Marathi and translated into English by Nadeem Khan, the book is a searing portrayal of life in the Naxal region of Chhattisgarh. The story begins in May 2013, when IAS officer Dilip Pawar gets posted as an Election Observer in the Naxal dominated districts of Chhattisgarh. His duty is to ensure smooth electoral process despite the grave circumstances of the region. His trepidation is put to test when he lands in the area and is inundated with stories of Naxal brutality and their ingenious ways in circumventing police surveillance and governmental interference. There, during his stay, he comes across this girl, Dudiya, who was born in one of the impoverished hamlets of Chhattisgarh, but soon joins the Naxals to escape the misogynist traditions and cultural norms of her village. During her training as a Naxalite, she soon realises how the original principles on which Naxalism was built have got eroded in the pursuit of establishing authority, control and hierarchy. Violence is commonplace and often misguided. Misogyny remains omnipresent in the Naxal camps though not as stark as in her village. She ditches the Naxals and joins the police as an informant and begins her life anew whilst trying to heal the traumas of her past.

Inspired by real life events, the book gives a thorough introduction to the region that has been plagued by the Naxalite movement. The author has on no occasion taken sides. He deftly portrays the history of the rise of Naxalism, its necessity, its spread and how its roots are linked to Maoism. Through various characters in the novel, he brings to light the politics that are deeply ingrained in the sustenance of the Naxal movement. Caught in the crossfire between the government and the rebels are the tribals of the region who have been completely forgotten by both parties. The apathy and ignorance of the political class in wanting to primarily weed out Naxal insurgents without addressing the grievances of the tribals at the grassroots level, exemplifies it. Through this book, the author has touched upon all of the above issues, without sounding patronising and being morally absolute.

Though the writing is simple and lucid, I felt it faltered at a few places when it tried to incorporate some element of ‘boob writing’ (the term, courtesy Daisy Rockwell). The description of the ‘bare breast’ tradition of the tribe and later of Dudiya’s relationship with an older man, bordered on titillation. Male writers should do away with these descriptions of women’s anatomy having lecherous overtones, because it serves no purpose in propelling the narrative.

Having said that, Dudiya is still a good book that attempts to provide a thorough understanding of the complexity of the Naxal movement. It also describes the lush yet difficult geography of the region. The author has given a vivid description of the Abujmarh forests, Tadmetla and Bastar. Vishwas Patil has done a fairly commendable job in bringing forth this national issue through the lives of the tribals who are easily dismissed in an often forgotten area of the country.

~ JUST A GAY BOY. 😐

The Woman in the Purple Skirt

My pick for Read a Kitaab’s #januaryinjapan was, ‘The Woman in the Purple Skirt’. The book, written by the acclaimed Natsuko Imamura and translated from the Japanese by Lucy North, has garnered fairly positive reviews online, however I was left feeling disappointed. The book is about this eponymous Woman in the Purple Skirt who is being closely watched by the narrator who calls herself as the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan. She meticulously describes every move of the woman in the purple skirt, her daily routine, eavesdropping on conversations and even gets her a job in the hotel that she’s employed at. Despite this extremely voyeuristic snooping by the woman in the yellow cardigan, she remains inconspicuous and almost oblivious to the other woman. However, things take a more ominous turn after the woman in the purple skirt starts working earnestly in the hotel and the sequence of events leading upto the climax happen so rapidly, it almost feels like an antithesis to how the book began.

In summation, I felt the climax to be a major letdown despite the foreboding atmosphere it created and the thrilling subtext. Though the book discusses themes of loneliness and the yearning for a friendship, and the human need to be seen and validated, it gets lost in the narrative that remains hyper focused on the inconsequential daily mundane activities of the woman in the purple skirt for the greater part of the book.

Ultimately, I even wondered what was the purpose of the woman in the purple skirt? What was the author trying to convey? I remain discombobulated!

~ JUST A GAY BOY. 🫤

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Insha Allah

📍 Western Sahara 🇪🇭

Western Sahara is a disputed territory on the northwest coast of Africa and is among the most arid and inhospitable on the planet. Colonised by Spain until 1975, about 20% of the territory is controlled by the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); while the remaining 80% is occupied and administered by Morocco with tacit support from France and the United States. A nationalist movement, the Polisario Front, has proclaimed the rightful leadership of the SADR with a government in exile in Tindouf, Algeria. The UN considers the Polisario Front to be the legitimate representative of the Saharawi people and maintains the Saharawis have a right to self determination. Western Sahara is the last African colonial state yet to achieve its independence and has been dubbed “Africa’s last colony”.

The book is a memoir of the Saharawi author, Sara Cheikh. Born in the Smara refugee camp in Tindouf, where she lived till the age of six, Sara later immigrated to Spain and is currently living in Paris. In the March of 2020, Sara decides to travel to Western Sahara to see her grandmother, Noa; just when the world is discovering about Covid-19. Despite a very uncertain and anxious start to her journey from Paris, she travels to Algiers, then Tindouf, then Smara and ultimately to Mheiriz in the liberated territory where she meets Noa and many members of her family. However, by this time, border closures have started happening all over the world and Sara is left panicking if she is ever going to go back to Europe. Her journey back from the desolate desert terrains forms the crux of this story that keeps us, the readers on the edge of our seats.

Sara’s writing is descriptive, nuanced and humorous. She carefully describes the geopolitical situation of the Saharawi people and benevolently introduces us to their culture, traditions and cuisine. The desert forms an important character in the prose and its harshness and kindness has been lucidly illustrated by the author. As you read the book, you discover that Saharawi women are fierce, independent and liberal minded. Sara’s mother, Gbnaha, comes across as this daring go-getter with a charming attitude who is tough and strong willed. The Saharawi men also appear to be supportive, convivial and progressive. The book is peppered with archival and personal pictures of the Saharawi territories and the people. Through the book, Sara tries portraying her juxtaposition as she battles her European upbringing with her Saharawi consciousness and makes a compelling case about a hyphenated existence.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Insha Allah is one of those rare books written by a Saharawi talking about the forgotten territory of Western Sahara. With this book, you realise that even in 2024, there’s colonialism present and the same colonisers are giving lessons to the world about freedom and equal rights. What a time to be alive!

~ JUST A GAY BOY. 🥹