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!
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!
Angola is a country on the west central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second largest Portuguese speaking (Lusophone) country in the world. After a protracted anti-colonial struggle, Angola achieved independence in 1975 from Portuguese colonisation as a Marxist-Leninist one party Republic. The country descended into a devastating civil war the same year between the ruling People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the insurgent National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, and the militant organization National Liberation Front of Angola. The country has been governed by MPLA ever since its independence in 1975. Following the end of the war in 2002, Angola emerged as a relatively stable unitary, presidential constitutional republic. (Source- Wikipedia)
The book, originally written in Portuguese by Angolan writer, José Eduardo Agualusa in 2012, was translated into English by Daniel Hahn in 2015. The novel appeared on the shortlist for the 2016 Man Booker International Prize and has been the recipient of the 2017 International Dublin Literary Award. The story is about a woman, Ludovica, who seals herself off in her apartment in Luanda in 1975 at the time of Angola’s independence. As Luanda plunges into a civil car soon after, Ludovica watches it unfold in bits and pieces through her window, radio and sometimes overhearing people’s conversations. She’s also dealing with the abrupt disappearance of her sister and brother-in-law which happens around the same time. She sustains herself frugally by growing her own vegetables, catching pigeons, reading the books in her house and by scribbling her thoughts on the wall. Years pass by, and Ludovica, with her aging and diminishing eyesight often oscillates between periods of imagined insanity and hopeless reality. One day, a little boy, Sabalu comes into her life, at a time, when she’s immobile and sprawled out on the floor due to a fracture. He tends to her and gives her hope through his unconditional empathy and care. Just when Ludo starts considering Sabalu as her grandson and only family, she is confronted with an unexpected and unknown family member.
This dark and seemingly despondent life of Ludovica runs in parallel with the civil upheaval in Luanda and Angola. The author also introduces us to a myriad of other characters through the narrative, whose individual stories, purposes and intentions come together in the end. Each of them has a tale woven across Angola’s independence. He also takes time in explaining Ludovica’s painful past traumas leading her to live a life of confinement, self abandonment and shame.
Agualusa’s prose is purposeful, political and poetic. He crafts a meandering plot that traverses from Angola’s independence in 1975, through the civil war, till its end in 2002. He doesn’t shy away from layering the text with mentions of colonialism and white supremacy and it’s problematic effects. Ludovica comes across as a woman of steely grit having a resounding optimism to live, despite her circumstances and her own beliefs about her. That’s the genius of Agualusa’s writing. Do savour it.
This is a book like no other. The novel, written by Doha based Eritrean novelist Haji Jabir, was originally published in Arabic in 2018 and, is the first Eritrean novel to be longlisted for the 2019 International Prize for Arabic Fiction. It has been translated into English by Sawad Hussain and Marcia Lynx Qualey. The story is about an Eritrean soldier’s relentless pursuit in finding stability, hope and freedom as he traverses from Eritrea to Ethiopia to Israel. Adal fights as a soldier in The Eritrean war of Independence against Ethiopia and sees his country achieve it. While Asmara celebrates the new freedom, Adal changes his name to Dawoud, because he doesn’t want to be associated with it. During his time at the Revolution school there, his infractions lead him being sent to the torture prison at the Blue Valley. He escapes the prison to land in Endabaguna refugee camp in North Ethiopia where he becomes David. From there, he manages to enter the Gondar camp in the Amhara region of Ethiopia, posing as a Falasha Mura (Ethiopian Jew) named Dawit. This helps him in getting to Israel, finally to Jerusalem. This arduous journey which converts him from a soldier to a refugee, whilst he assumes various identities and religions, shakes him to his core; challenges all his beliefs and notions about the world and humanity. Ultimately, he finds a glimmer of solace when he visits the Al-Aqsa mosque in the West Bank region of Jerusalem, Palestine; it appears to him, as if life has come a full circle and there he starts questioning his identity and whether he may now be a part of a community of African Palestinians.
Black Foam is a composite story that, at the outset, through the protagonist’s character highlights the struggles and atrocities faced by a refugee. However, as we delve deep into the narrative, it holds your attention towards a plethora of unspoken issues and peoples. A nation’s independence needn’t necessarily attribute independence to all its citizens. As a soldier, Adal was left stifled living that life, though now Eritrea was free. However, his mindset was such that, he could never accept freedom, which led him from one refugee camp to another. The book also talks about the plight of Ethiopian Jews, who remain at the mercy of the Israeli Jews and live like second class citizens in the country. The story also talks about Palestine and lives of Palestinians living under the apartheid regime of Israel. Whilst weaving a sombre and at times discordant narrative through these complex geographies, the author simultaneously constructs the romantic and sexual life of the protagonist. This juxtaposition in the storytelling is distracting, deliberately pervasive and at times tedious.
Haji Jabir has masterfully sketched this story of a man in search of a home, security, a sense of belonging only to be met by hostility and uncertainty every step of the way. This quest is sadly the tale of millions of refugees in various parts of the world. Kudos to the author for writing it, keeping the despair and depravity alive in every page; for breathing life into the forgotten lives of the refugees; for portraying doom as a running subtext to the entire narrative. The descriptions of Jerusalem, West Bank, Al-Aqsa Mosque, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, is so detailed, nuanced; it’s almost as if we are there with Dawoud/ David/ Dawit as he roams these streets searching and questioning his life’s meaning and purpose.
Black Foam is a bittersweet melancholy that will stay with you long after you have finished reading it.
This book is a compelling narrative on Uyghurs; their life, culture, geography and the strife unleashed upon them by the Chinese government or the CCP (Chinese Communist Party). The Uyghurs are a Turkic ethnic group from the autonomous region of Northwest China known as East Turkestan, which has been renamed as Xinjiang by the CCP. Modern Uyghurs are primarily Muslims and they are the second largest predominantly Muslim ethnicity in China after the Hui. The modern Uyghur language is classified under the Turkic language family and has an Arabic script. Gulchehra Hoja, author of this book, has written a memoir and through that, has encapsulated the trials and tribulations of her people and the ongoing modern day genocide.
Hoja, born and raised in Ürümchi, the capital of the then erstwhile East Turkestan, comes from a lineage of musicians and artists. Her family was known for their contributions towards the Uyghurs’ cultural landscape, and she had a very liberal upbringing. Gulchehra, upon completing her studies was chosen to be the face of Xinjiang Television’s children’s show. Whilst the show initially started off as a celebration of Uyghur culture and traditions, it gradually morphed into a CCP propaganda piece. Soon she realised how little to no control she had in the proceedings of the show and that, that she was becoming a puppet at the hands of the Han authorities running the channel. Now, the Chinese government had always wanted complete control of the Uyghur region and had started asserting their supremacy by sending Han Chinese civilians to live and work there. Chinese language was forcibly introduced in schools and other governmental establishments. Uyghur civilians were finding it more and more difficult to be themselves or practice their faith. The more Gulchehra understood the threats to her freedom and her Uyghur people, the more uncomfortable she got. One fine day, when she got an opportunity to go to Europe, she learnt starker truths and gory details of the Chinese government in the programmed oppression of the Uyghur, thanks to the free internet available in Europe. This prompted her to make a life changing decision to go America and work for Radio Free Asia (RFA), which simultaneously meant that, she could never come back to her land and her family.
As a journalist at RFA, Hoja gave the Uyghurs a voice that could be heard all across the globe. She brought to light the brutality and racial killing perpetuated by the CCP while promoting their ethnocentric agenda. This bold and fearless reporting only meant trouble for her family back home. She was soon branded as a separatist/ terrorist and her immediate and extended family were imprisoned and treated in the most inhuman way possible. Gulchehra battled immeasurable feelings of guilt and sorrow, but she continued her reporting nonetheless. Her personal life was a complete mess too, with an estranged husband and a budding love interest. However, Gulchehra remained committed to her Uyghur people, never lost focus of her responsibility towards them and through this extremely difficult journey, she portrayed her resilience, compassion and bravado.
What is happening to Uyghurs, is a genocide. The Islamophobia that is rampantly being broadcasted by the CCP is dangerous. There’s genocide happening of the Palestinians by apartheid Israel as well. The world, somehow has turned a blind eye to these genocides and various such Islamophobic propagandas. As I read this book, a chill ran down my spine. The measures taken by the CCP for this ethnic cleansing include detention camps (euphemised as vocational skills education training centers), forced sterilisation, disappearance of dissenting civilians, torture, violation of privacy, hi-tech mass surveillance, religious persecution, unreasonable incarcerations, suppression of free press. Now, only an imbecile or a fanatic should be able to not draw parallels to the situation here at home. Maybe there aren’t any detention camps or forced sterilisations yet, but Islamophobic rhetoric has become mainstream. And if you broaden the scope and look beyond the lens of any kind of phobia, you shall note that this is signalling of a rise in autocracy and complete totalitarianism. Let’s not shun an Uyghur or a Palestine as a localised geopolitical issue. The fanaticism used in this oppression has worldwide ramifications and replications. After the Holocaust, the world vowed that it would never ever allow another humanitarian catastrophe. Yet in 2023, we are not only seeing such events and genocides happening but also becoming widespread. How many more of such massacres would it take for the world, for us to get out of our ignorant slumber?
Mozambican writer Mia Couto is one of the most prominent Portuguese language writers of today. After studying medicine and biology, he worked as a journalist and headed several national newspapers and magazines in Mozambique. He has published more than thirty books that have been translated in thirty different countries.
He won the Camões Prize in 2013, the most important literary award in the Portuguese language, and the Neustadt International Prize for Literature (The Prize is a biennial award sponsored by the University of Oklahoma and World Literature Today since 1970, and is one of the few international prizes for which poets, novelists, and playwrights are equally eligible) in 2014. He was shortlisted for his entire body of work for the Man Booker International Prize 2015. In many of his texts, he undertakes to recreate the Portuguese language by infusing it with regional vocabulary and structures from Mozambique, thus producing a new model for African narrative. He lives in Maputo, Mozambique.
Mozambique, a country located in southeastern Africa, gained independence from Portuguese colonial rule in 1975. After only two years following independence, the country descended into a bloody and protracted civil war lasting from 1977 to 1992. This book was first published in 1994, shortly after the 1992 peace agreement and has been translated by Eric M.B. Becker.
The book is a collection of 26 short stories. Though the book has received wide critical acclaim internationally, I completely failed to connect with it. The stories are extremely fable like, many inspired by Mozambican folklore while others oscillate between the real world and an imaginary magical realm. The stories start and end abruptly and the author fails to provide any nuanced significance for each of them. Reading these stories I wondered, if there was a purpose for this kind of pithy yet tedious storytelling. Are Mozambicans only supposed to understand them?
Unrest in Syria began on 15th March, 2011 as part of the wider 2011 Arab spring protests out of discontent with the Syrian government, eventually leading to an armed conflict. The war is currently fought by several factions. The Syrian Civil War is second deadliest conflict of the 21st century after the Second Congo War. The conflict has caused a major refugee crisis with millions fleeing to neighbouring countries (source Wikipedia). This book by Syrian American author, Zeyn Joukhadar, is rooted in Syria and celebrates it with a double tale of voyage and exile. The first tale is about 16 year old Rawiya, set in 12th century, who leaves her house in Benzu, near Ceuta (Ceuta is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa), in search of adventure and with a quest to explore the world beyond the desert. She becomes an apprentice with the renowned explorer and mapmaker al-Idrisi and sets out on this perilous and unforeseeable odyssey to assist al-Idrisi in sketching the map through the Maghreb and the Mediterranean. During this adventure of a lifetime, she comes across blood thirsty mystical creatures; vicious men; cruel, tyrant kings and their armies; and difficult terrain and weather. This only establishes Rawiya as a gallant warrior. Rawiya single handedly helps al-Idrisi in completing his exploration of the world whilst constantly battling attackers and reminding everyone through this pursuit that her gender is no barrier in achieving accolades and appreciation and in being one of the greatest warriors of her time.
The second tale is of the present day, 12 year old Nour who has moved to Homs in Syria from Manhattan after her father’s death; with her mother, who is a mapmaker and two sisters, Zahra and Huda. As she is adjusting to her new life in Syria while knowing only a few words of Arabic, she is now one amongst many who has got trapped in the Civil war. She experiences bombing of her house and from there on, her ordeal for survival begins. Instantly her status becomes that of a refugee as she manages to escape from Syria. She has to let go of her mother and sister Huda during this gut wrenching journey which takes her through Jordan, Libya, Algeria and finally to Ceuta. The tale is as much a portrayal of Nour’s resilience, as much as it is, about her coming to terms with the menacing traits of human behaviour and the rot that has crept into humanity at large.
The narrative constantly flips between the stories of Rawiya and Nour. It’s a slow paced read. Islamic history and ancient names of cities find a constant mention through the book. I had to refer to Google lot many times to educate myself about the same. The author brilliantly depicts the striking geographical similarities between the old world and the current. Maps form an integral part of the storyline throughout the book. There are constant references about stars, galaxies and various constellations. I did find Nour’s narrative a bit tedious, since it gets a lot metaphorical at times. It isn’t an easy book to read. How would it even be? How can any book that talks about a devastating civil war be pleasant in any way? The author deftly portrays the geopolitical dissimilarity in tales of Rawiya and Nour. Rawiya’s is about bringing the world together by sketching the map and defining the borders, whilst ironically in Nour’s, it’s about a disintegrated world and the battles at the borders.
Mauritania is a sovereign country in Northwest Africa. It is the 11th-largest country in Africa, and 90% of its territory is situated in the Sahara. It achieved independence in 1960 from French colonialism but has since experienced recurrent coups and periods of military dictatorship. Despite an abundance of natural resources, Mauritania remains poor. It was the last country in the world to abolish slavery, in 1981, and criminalised it only in 2007. (Source Wikipedia)
This book is the first novel ever to be translated into English from Mauritania. It was originally published in French in 2015 and translated by Rachael McGill in 2018. The book won the Ahmadou Kourouma Prize in 2016 (the prize was established in 2004 in honour of the Ivorian writer Ahmadou Kourouma, and it is awarded annually to works of fiction and nonfiction concerning Black Africa).
The story traces the journey of a young Bedouin girl, Rayhana, who has run away from her tribe and is on a mission to find the thing that has been snatched from her with force and deceit. While running away she has taken the sacred, symbolic and pious drum, rezzam, that belongs to her tribe and represents their pride and honour. She embarks on this perilous journey through the unforgiving Sahara and reaches a small town, Atar, and finally to the capital, Nouakchott. During this sojourn, she encounters various people who help her in their own ways, in achieving her mission, and also protect her from her tribe who are in search of her to retrieve their prized drum. Standout characters include that of the slave girl, Mbarka, who has now become a sex worker; and the very colourful and jovial queer guy, Hama.
The book is a raw, unapologetic and uncomfortable narrative of Rayhana’s turmoil. The chapters oscillate between the past and the present as does Rayhana’s thoughts from her secure yet stifling existence in her tribe, to the unknown and unwelcoming mores of the city life. She is torn about the fact that, she still cradles the belongingness she feels towards her tribe whilst despising the carefree and untethered cultural values of the city. She still remains a prisoner of her unpropitious upbringing, though freedom is now within her reach.
The author, Mbarek Ould Beyrouk, originally from Atar, is a journalist, who has written four books and has founded the country’s first ever independent newspaper. He gives an honest portrayal of the Bedouin life and their customs, and has kept the story rooted in Mauritanian ethos. The issues of patriarchy, misogyny, gender based violence, caste based oppression aren’t exclusive to Mauritania. Let’s get off our high horse, shed our condescension and pomposity, and examine the issues closely. They are as much prevalent behind the façades of glitzy high rises and modern lifestyles as they are in the humbling desert.
Tunisian author, Yamen Manai’s book, translated from French by Lara Vergnaud, is brooding and contemplative. This wonderful parable, can seem deceptively simple but is a rich tapestry of human emotions and behaviours. The story takes place in a far flung village of Nawa. Sidi, the beekeeper of the village, has devoted his life in taking care of his precious honeybees. However, one day when he finds them brutally massacred, he sets out on a quest to find the perpetrators behind the attack. He soon reckons that hornets are responsible for it and takes it upon himself to safeguard his bees from the menacing and dangerous hornets. At the same time, the unnamed country is going through a new post-Arab spring transition which sees the rise of radical fundamentalists to power. Using God, they are on a mission to convert the people into a bunch of zealots. As Sidi, grapples with the changing sociopolitical scenario and attitudes of people, juxtaposed with the imminent threat to his bees due to a natural predator, he comes to a realisation that human beings are far worse and vicious.
It won’t be too difficult to draw parallels, with the current political situation in our country. As zealotry and jingoism take centre stage, God has been weaponised to spread hatred, bigotry and radicalism. Is this going to be a massacre of our humanity?
the shiny diaries 