M. G. Vassanji, author of The Book of Secrets, winner of the first Giller prize, brings us a novel that is rich in sensuous detail and polit...
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Dec 21, 2010
Miranda
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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
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Feb 16, 2011
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
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Aug 03, 2010
Arlie
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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
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Jun 07, 2010
Stevecrandell
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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 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 More...
May 28, 2009
Kristel
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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 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 More...
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Jan 17, 2011
Shirley
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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
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Dec 16, 2011
Dougcris
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This was very interesting book from the son of an immigrant. This man never really understood his position in life in Kenya. I believe we can all relate to this book on some level. I am the daughter of immigrants dating back to the 1800s. I have now settled in my life in Canada but my ties remain very strong to New Zealand. During this period Vasanji writes about with the Mau Mau causing terrible upheaval, their was a small faction within NZ at that time that were concerned the Maori might ri
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Jan 30, 2011
CynthiaA
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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 co
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Jan 16, 2012
Taslim
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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 a
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Dec 22, 2008
Shane
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I found the writing a bit stilted although the subject matter was most interesting
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Jan 30, 2012
Sam
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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 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 More...
Dec 03, 2010
Eric
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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
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Aug 28, 2009
Tim
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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 s 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 s More...
Jan 10, 2010
Ben
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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 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 More...
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Jan 29, 2012
Ali
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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 .. 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 .. More...
Jan 13, 2009
Parastou
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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.
Oct 15, 2011
Jane
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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.
Jan 03, 2010
Sharon
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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.
Jun 23, 2011
Daniela
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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 inter 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 inter More...
Aug 06, 2011
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.
Jul 09, 2009
Val
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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.
Jun 17, 2009
Iz
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I think I was expecting more from this book, but I don't know why. It's a compelling story about one of the most fascinating topics of Kenyan culture - the in-between-ness of being Indian, stuck in the middle in a society of extremes where corruption is expected as a way of life.
Jan 02, 2011
Tori
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A part of history I know too little about. A book filled with complexities which are engaging an also cause you to think. It covers a number of time periods all at the same time giving little hints that keep you reading eager to hear more. I'd recommend it.
Jun 24, 2007
This is a great book for its characters, less the narrator's than the profound understanding he shows for the people who are a part of and affect his life. There is no depiction of good or evil, just people caught inside the strenghts and weakness of who they are and the circumstances in which they live. There is a poignant space throughout the book, a despair almost - a space we typically bridge with anger and judgement - where the human limitations of people with great power: political leade
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Mar 01, 2011
Adrianne
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It took me a long time to get into this book then the book took hold. It was hard to put down. I loved the story but disliked the ending. It was great to read a story about Indians in colonial and post-colonial Kenya. Sparked my interest in the topic.
Jan 21, 2010
Rosebud
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Indian(Asian) boy growing up in Kenya during the Mau Mau uprising and African independence. Haunting story of childhood and living in a world where he never really fit in-neither white nor black/European nor African-being Asian/Indian always set him apart.
Jun 13, 2011
Lori
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"the story of one man's life-long search for his place in the world, between colony and colonizer, between east and wast, between idealism and lawlessness..."
From the jacket text, this description provides a glimpse into this epic story: a story of one man that is also, marvelously, the story of nations and human nature. Without ever allowing the reader's helpless affection for the flawed and beautiful main characters in this book to lessen, Vassanji reveals that there is no More...
From the jacket text, this description provides a glimpse into this epic story: a story of one man that is also, marvelously, the story of nations and human nature. Without ever allowing the reader's helpless affection for the flawed and beautiful main characters in this book to lessen, Vassanji reveals that there is no More...
Aug 25, 2011
Rebecca
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I liked this book, but I did not love it. I found it very long and I couldn't connect with the main character. The author writes beautifully but the writing wasn't enough to carry me through the complex and drawn out story.
Aug 10, 2011
Debbie
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Loved this book. Read it the same year as I read A Fine Balance and The Kite Runner and liked it the best although it didn't get the same amount of acclaim. Nice bit of history explaining why there is so many Indian-Kenyans.
Dec 24, 2008
Alice
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I really wish there were parts of stars iin this rating system. I would give this one a 3.7. I enjoyed this book primarily because I liked learning about Kenyan independence from the perspective of its Asian citizens - interesting stuff on family, race, ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, that sort of stuff. I liked the characters. This book didn't blow me out of the water, but it is a quick read and one I would recommend - would be a good one for a book club.
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