Black Mamba Boy | Nadifa Mohamed
April 8th 2010 07:08
Original Creative Writing:
Nadifa Mohamed
Nadifa Mohamed
Longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2010
For fans of The Kite Runner comes this critically acclaimed debut novel by Nadifa Mohamed. Based on the story of her father's life in homeland Somalia, Black Mamba Boy is a stunning homage to life in chaos and upheaval.
Nadifa Mohamed was born in Hargeisa in 1981 while Somalia was falling deeper into dictatorship. In 1986 she moved to London with her family - in what she thought was a temporary move, but a couple of years later it became permanent as war broke out back home. Black Mamba Boy is her tribute to her father and her homeland.
I wanted to memorialise the lives of people like my father who are often written about but very rarely have their perspectives represented, Nadifa says. The odds against him were so high - he had a kind of luck that helped him to survive, while I think I've had a kind of luck where I've been able to thrive.
About the book: Aden 1935; a city vibrant, alive, and full of hidden dangers. And home to Jama, a ten-year-old boy. But when his mother dies unexpectedly, Jama is forced home to Somalia, the land of his nomadic ancestors. War is on the horizon, and the fascist Italian forces who control parts of East Africa are preparing for battle. Yet Jama cannot rest until he discovers whether his father, absent for most of his life, is alive somewhere.
And so begins an epic journey which will take Jama north through Djibouti, war-torn Eritrea and Sudan, to Egypt. And from there, aboard a ship transporting Jewish refugees just released from German concentration camps, across the seas to Britain and freedom.
Watch Nadifa discuss her father's story as the inspiration behind this breathtaking debut
Longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2010
For fans of The Kite Runner comes this critically acclaimed debut novel by Nadifa Mohamed. Based on the story of her father's life in homeland Somalia, Black Mamba Boy is a stunning homage to life in chaos and upheaval.
I wanted to memorialise the lives of people like my father who are often written about but very rarely have their perspectives represented, Nadifa says. The odds against him were so high - he had a kind of luck that helped him to survive, while I think I've had a kind of luck where I've been able to thrive.
The most exciting, original new fiction is coming out of Africa. Nadifa Mohamed has produced a first novel of elegance and beauty - a stunning debut
Times
Times
About the book: Aden 1935; a city vibrant, alive, and full of hidden dangers. And home to Jama, a ten-year-old boy. But when his mother dies unexpectedly, Jama is forced home to Somalia, the land of his nomadic ancestors. War is on the horizon, and the fascist Italian forces who control parts of East Africa are preparing for battle. Yet Jama cannot rest until he discovers whether his father, absent for most of his life, is alive somewhere.
And so begins an epic journey which will take Jama north through Djibouti, war-torn Eritrea and Sudan, to Egypt. And from there, aboard a ship transporting Jewish refugees just released from German concentration camps, across the seas to Britain and freedom.
Watch Nadifa discuss her father's story as the inspiration behind this breathtaking debut
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David Jobling
