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13th out of 20 books
—
38 voters
The In-Between World of Vikram Lall
Vikram Lall comes of age in 1950s Kenya, at the same time that the colony is struggling towards independence. Against the unsettling backdrop of Mau Mau violence, Vic and his sister Deepa, the grandchildren of an Indian railroad worker, search for their place in a world sharply divided between Kenyans and the British. We follow Vic from a changing Africa in the fifties, to...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
November 8th 2005
by Vintage
(first published December 31st 1999)
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"This was our January read on the Fiction Lovers website, and our theme was Canadian authors. I had read the Book of Secrets, which I loved, and so was anxious to pick this one up. The book itself takes place shortly after the separation of India from Pakistan, and covers the fight for Kenyan independance from British rule. The charactors once again were vividly drawn, although for some reason I wasn't as enthusiastic about the story as I was with his Book of Secrets. This was a time period I wa...more
The Globe and Mail say this book belongs "in a category with Tolstoy's War and Peace. As a fan of Russian literature, especially Tolstoy, I had to give this book a read. This turned out to be a good decision; just as Tolstoy pulls readers back into Russian history, Vassanji takes readers on a journey through time in Africa. Alternating between the present and past, the narrator, Vikram Lall tells the remarkable story of his life as an Indian boy growing up as a minority in Nakru. I am instantly...more
An intriguing story of post-colonial Kenya. Vikram Lall is from an Indian family, his grandfather came to Kenya, along with thousands of Indian labourers, to build the railroads for the Brittish. The Asians of Kenya are a forgotten population, always hovering bewteen the European colonists and the native Africans. Vikram hovers in this way for all his life. As a child, he befriends both English and African children but he begins to learn that he is not part of either world. His African friend, N...more
Vikram Lall has been labelled one of the most corrupt men in Africa. In Vassanji's novel, he ceases the chance to tell his story. What emerges is a complex and personal look at life in Kenya from the 70's to the 90's. Vikram is a self-professed non-political person, so his story grows all the more interesting as he recounts political events from a neutral point of view. He has his own perceptions and feelings, but they are never crowded by higher political ideals or agendas. The reader comes awa...more
Vassanji has written a beautiful and tragic epic of 20th century Kenya. Jomo Kenyatta, the first President, was brutal. As were the Mau Maus, when they hacked apart women and children in their war to end British colonialism.
These horrors provide a context, but not the core. There are more subtle, personal brutalities at work. Vikram Lall is an Indian Kenyan, well-placed in-between conflicts and threats. He finds racism in every aspect of life – from his mother, to his colleagues, to his best fr...more
These horrors provide a context, but not the core. There are more subtle, personal brutalities at work. Vikram Lall is an Indian Kenyan, well-placed in-between conflicts and threats. He finds racism in every aspect of life – from his mother, to his colleagues, to his best fr...more
This book takes place in Kenya, and the narrator (Vikram Lall) was born in Kenya of an Indian family. Which makes the book very real for me at the moment. I've been interested in further understanding what it's like for all of the Indian families that still populate East Africa. Seriously they're still their own merchant class, at least here in Uganda (even after Amin), and in about six weeks I'll see what it's like in Kenya.
The book opens in the 1950s, towards the end of colonialism and during...more
The book opens in the 1950s, towards the end of colonialism and during...more
I picked this one up as part of my continuing efforts to read all the winners of the Giller prize. (I've read 12, I think, of 16.) MG Vassanji is a two-time winner of the prize and his other winner, The Book of Secrets, is still on my to-be-read pile. (It's also on my mental to-be-bought list, but one day...)
From The New Yorker, a description: In this novel set among Kenya's Indian diaspora, two ill-fated loves—Vikram Lall's for a young English girl, his sister's for a young African man—symboliz...more
From The New Yorker, a description: In this novel set among Kenya's Indian diaspora, two ill-fated loves—Vikram Lall's for a young English girl, his sister's for a young African man—symboliz...more
The story started off very strong, but by the middle I began to get bored with it. It didn't have the same flare that it began with. The ending made it all worth sticking with it until the end. So all in all, a good read.
I enjoyed the look at the lives off the characters and how they lived and tried to survive in Kenya. The author gave some glimpses of the country and what life was like for those who lived there during the time period. The author also did a good job at exploring some of the pol...more
I enjoyed the look at the lives off the characters and how they lived and tried to survive in Kenya. The author gave some glimpses of the country and what life was like for those who lived there during the time period. The author also did a good job at exploring some of the pol...more
Jan 17, 2011
Shirley Schwartz
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
prize-winners,
my-5-star-reads
This book is another worthy winner of the prestigious Giller Prize. It won the award in 2003. It is written by an author that really knows how to tell a story. The story spans 4 decades of time and is located mostly in Kenya, but switches back regularly to present-day Canada near Lake Ontario. Vikram Lall is a character that you will never forget. Born to Indian parents in African Kenya, we see his life as it unfolds around all the political turmoil in this former British colony. But there is so...more
Jan 30, 2011
CynthiaA
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
canadian-author,
set-in-africa
Giller Prize Winner 2003. This was a good book, and very good in some ways. But it lacked in some ways too. I enjoyed Vikram, getting to know him, getting to understand him... and I enjoyed learning about Kenya and some of its politics. It was an aspect of African history that I had no idea even existed, and so that was interesting to read about. Although the "big sin" that he was hiding from wasn't even brought up until the final few chapters... it just seemed "small" in comparison to all the o...more
Vikram Lall is an Indian boy growing up in Kenya during colonial times; his grandfather left his homeland of India to work on the Kenyan railways, laying down its rails and the foundation for his family’s life in this new, breath-takingly beautiful country. He and his sister, Deepa, befriend a Kikuyu boy Njoroge and two British children, brother and sister Bill and Annie Bruce. The five of them form a complicated bond during a time when the British were in power, and were using the Asians to aid...more
This is the title I consult when I'm looking to refine my command of pace, tone of voice. The proportions of the story are epic in scale, spanning India, East Africa, and ultimately Vikram Lall's years of exile in Canada. Yet the narration (offered in first person) is quite intimate as though shared by a close friend. Vikram speaks of the ills he helped to propagate, the atrocities committed with aid of his financial acumen. He speaks with due humility of the things done to him, his misfortunes,...more
I found the writing a bit stilted although the subject matter was most interesting
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This is a novel, but very close to reality in Kenya which got the Canadian Guller prize, well written.
It has 3 parts describing the life of an Indian – Vikram in Nakuru as a small child during the MauMau, then a strong romance of his daughter with all the tensions of an Indian family plus the race problems, and then as an adult in the role of the most corrupt man in Africa
One can smell and “see” the various parts of Nakuru, Kenya and Nairobi that we used to walk about in the 70′s.
A good descrip...more
It has 3 parts describing the life of an Indian – Vikram in Nakuru as a small child during the MauMau, then a strong romance of his daughter with all the tensions of an Indian family plus the race problems, and then as an adult in the role of the most corrupt man in Africa
One can smell and “see” the various parts of Nakuru, Kenya and Nairobi that we used to walk about in the 70′s.
A good descrip...more
Well, I am loving MG Vassanji, the author. This is his second Giller Prize winner and the second book of his I have now read, and I am happy.
He was born in Kenya and raised in Tanzania and since 1978 lives in Toronto and the two novels of his I have read so far have focused on these three countries and the intermingled and complex histories of Kenya and Tanzania.
This story plays out a bit like a mystery because from page 1 the narrator, Vikram Lall, tells us that he is corrupt and hated in his c...more
He was born in Kenya and raised in Tanzania and since 1978 lives in Toronto and the two novels of his I have read so far have focused on these three countries and the intermingled and complex histories of Kenya and Tanzania.
This story plays out a bit like a mystery because from page 1 the narrator, Vikram Lall, tells us that he is corrupt and hated in his c...more
This was recommended reading for the ACM Tanzania program. It's clear why. The drama of this book is intertwined with the drama of Tanzania's independence and growth as a young nation. Vikram's early years are colored by the dark, fearful nights of the Mau Mau revolutionaries, by the blind oppression of the British; his later years are defined by the corruption of Kenya's post-colonial government. His unique personality flows from the cultural interactions between the immigrant Indian community...more
Although this Booker prize-winning story seems to start slow with the adventures of some young playmates in the dusty streets of a Kenyan town, the story becomes compelling. From the beginning Vassanji drops subtle hints of tragedies to come that affect the playmates as they grow; the English boy and girl representing the British colonial administration, the Kikuyu boy representing the tribal people, and Vikram and his sister Deepa representing the Indians brought in to build the railway who bec...more
A wonderful book if one has lived in Kenya and knows the geography and the people by personal experience. I was fortunate to have lived there so it was very authentic and vivid. If I hadn't lived there, this would drop to a three, because the world Vassanji paints is so hard to enter.
The story is set in Kenya as World War II ends, the British Empire dissolves, nationhood is bestowed on former colonies, and many dreams and hopes are steadily betrayed. In the middle of those broad sweeps, the stor...more
The story is set in Kenya as World War II ends, the British Empire dissolves, nationhood is bestowed on former colonies, and many dreams and hopes are steadily betrayed. In the middle of those broad sweeps, the stor...more
This is my first book of the year, and it took me quite some time to get into it.
Few things annoy me more than when an author decides to ignore such a useful stylistic conventions as using quotation marks to offset dialogue! I like quotation marks. It makes the book easier to parse and gives me a clear idea of who is saying what. I discarded Blindness for similar reasons. Had I not been more favourably disposed to M.G. Vassanji after reading The Assassin's Song , I might have done the same thin...more
Few things annoy me more than when an author decides to ignore such a useful stylistic conventions as using quotation marks to offset dialogue! I like quotation marks. It makes the book easier to parse and gives me a clear idea of who is saying what. I discarded Blindness for similar reasons. Had I not been more favourably disposed to M.G. Vassanji after reading The Assassin's Song , I might have done the same thin...more
Synopsis
Sweeping in scope, both historically and geographically, Vassanji weaves a rich tapestry of vivid characters, real and imagined, in a Kenya poised between colonialism and independence. Vikram Lall, like his adopted country, inhabits an 'in-between world': between the pull of his ancestral home in India and the Kenya he loves passionately; between his tragic past in Africa and an unclear future in Canada; between escape from political terror and a seemingly inevitable return home ...a ret...more
Sweeping in scope, both historically and geographically, Vassanji weaves a rich tapestry of vivid characters, real and imagined, in a Kenya poised between colonialism and independence. Vikram Lall, like his adopted country, inhabits an 'in-between world': between the pull of his ancestral home in India and the Kenya he loves passionately; between his tragic past in Africa and an unclear future in Canada; between escape from political terror and a seemingly inevitable return home ...a ret...more
An ethnic Indian, born and raised in Kenya, occupies an intermediate social position between native Africans and British colonial masters. After independence, he rises in the government based on his skill in financial manipulation. This is an excellent read. While telling an interesting story centering on the culture of political corruption,it provides a sense of the status of Kenya's ethnic Indians, the Mau Mau movement, the Maasi People, and everyday life in both rural and urban Kenya.
This story about an Indian family in Kenya opens at the time of the independence struggle and ends well after independence and into the rule of Moi. I'm giving it 5 stars because it has everything I always enjoy in fiction - history/politics, romance, questions of identity, etc. And what really put it in the 5-star category for me is that it was the type of book that made me want to read a whole other bunch of books about the history of Kenya and about the Indian community there.
I picked this book up at the library on the recommendation of Mordecai Richler. The author is praised by M.R. in his biography. I was reading Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children at the same time, and The In-between World of Vikram Lal was definitely the light read by comparison. I loved it. It takes place in 1950/1960 Kenya and tells the story of a Kenyan family who hail from India. As the daughter of parents who spent time in Uganda in the early 60's when Africa was a place of unlimited promis...more
What captured me in this story is the subject matter of racial conflicts, political unrest, and cultural differences in a very different setting that I am familiar with. Not only did I enjoy getting to know the characters, but I learned a lot of history about the Africa and India under British colonialism and its deterioration. The book covers several decades over the life span of three generations. Well worth reading...slow and steady, not a fast read.
An interesting story about Vikram Lall, a boy/man who lives in the in-between world of East Indian in colonial and post-colonial Kenya. In-between because Asians are not white nor are they Africans so they are not accepted by either the ruling class British or the black Africans. There are other facets to Vikram's in-betweenness that make this a compelling tale. The setting of Kenya is exotic and fascinating, though the political unrest and terrorism make for troubling reading in parts.
it took a few chapters of this book before I was able to slip into the story and then it was so good.It is the story of an Indian man whose grandfather came to Kenya to work on the railroad when it was a British colony.His life progresses thru Kenyan independence and beyond. Finely written with wonderful characters it is a gripping story and deserved theGiller prize it was awarded in 2003.
I knew it! I really enjoyed this novel, which incidently won The Giller Prize in 2003.
A great piece of historical fiction intertwined with unforgettable characters and their stories. The main character Vikram Lall is of Indian descent but was born and raised in Nakuru, Kenya. He tells the story through a series of flashbacks from the perspective of an older man who now lives in Canada. He has made millions and been declared one of the most corrupt men in Africa. That will keep you interested al...more
A great piece of historical fiction intertwined with unforgettable characters and their stories. The main character Vikram Lall is of Indian descent but was born and raised in Nakuru, Kenya. He tells the story through a series of flashbacks from the perspective of an older man who now lives in Canada. He has made millions and been declared one of the most corrupt men in Africa. That will keep you interested al...more
Aug 06, 2011
Amy
added it
From a position as the most corrupt man in Kenya, now in exile Vikram Lall reflects back on his childhood, growing up in Colonial Kenya and witnessing the country's independence. This is a solid story, but I didn't always find it compelling. The historical backdrop of Kenya's independence, and the position of Asians living there was interesting.
Story of a Punjabi boy growing up in Kenya. Covers his boyhood, college years, and adult life set against a backdrop of a dynamic and proud African country. Lovely intertwining of a boy's Indian and African identities, race relations, family dynamics, personal struggles, tragedy... truly feels you know the lifetime of Vikram Lall when you finish the story.
There is something to be said about a book that succeeds in being emotionally removed and yet heartbreaking at the same time. Such is the case with this book. You never really get a sense of feeling from the book's protagonist -- a man who introduces himself as having 'the distinction of having been numbered one of Africa's most corrupt men, a cheat of monstrous and reptilian cunning.' Despite this, as his story progresses you find that you relate to him more and more.
It is at the same time a d...more
It is at the same time a d...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| East Africa | 4 | 18 | Apr 28, 2012 07:07pm |
Moyez G. Vassanji was born in Kenya and raised in Tanzania. Before coming to Canada in 1978, he attended MIT and the University of Pennsylvania, where he specialized in theoretical nuclear physics. From 1978-1980 he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Atomic Energy of Canada, and from 1980 to 1989 he was a research associate at the University of Toronto. During this period he developed a keen interes...more
More about M.G. Vassanji...
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