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The Blue Taxi: A Novel
Against the backdrop of an East African city, an impossible romance between an Indian widower and a married Belgian woman unfolds under the most unlikely circumstances.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 7, 2018
I came back to this app just to say how much I loved this unlikely book from a Belgian writer who lives in the US and apparently has a string of university degrees behind her name. It’s remarkable how she managed to describe life in an East African town like the best of our African writers. A beautiful and moving story. One memorable quote: ‘The journeys of some people gesture with their motion to the hidden heart of things and leave deep marks in others’.
October 7, 2014
This seems to be a pretty obscure book. The only reason I came across it was because I had to choose the best available from a limited stock in a local bookstore where some friends were treating me to whichever tome I wanted. In retrospect, it was surprising that a book which is not widely available was available in that place and time, but the unconventional setting and cover appealed to me, thought I took another couple of years before finally getting round to reading it.
The tale takes place in an East African city, after the colonial powers have left. The place is a melting pot of Africans, Indians, Westerners among others who have made the place home a long time ago. In the midst of this maelstrom, Sarie Turner, a former nurse, witnesses an accident which will change the course of her relatively unsatisfying existence. The victim is the son of a member of the Jeevanjee clan, a family of Indian origins known for their business acumen and wealth creation, and the aggressor an old truck. She and her daughter take the boy to a hospital, where his leg has to be amputated, and she decides to pay the boy a visit after he is well. On her visits to the Jeevanjee household, we get to learn more about the reclusive father – Mad Majid as the neighbors have started referring to him. Majid, unlike the rest of his mostly illustrious family, is not exactly a roaring success in his enterprises and has been in mourning ever since his wife died years earlier.
The third major character is Gilbert Turner, Sarie’s husband. Gilbert is one of the few foreigners to stay back in the city after the colonials gave up power and he spends his days in a semi dreamy state of aspiring to something greater which he feels he is destined for, while at the same time being hindered by the creeping suspicion that this is just as far as he will get in an uneventful life. Seemingly content to while his days away finding various travel books to read upon and appear a man of the world, his hold on his wife’s emotions have long ceased to have any effect and the marriage appears an arrangement of convenience till the inevitable final nail. As Sarie and Majid delve into an unconventional affair, Gilbert is one day shocked out his languor by an ultimatum from an uncle in faraway London who threatens his stipend and his lifestyle. From here on in, both Sarie and Gilbert come up with their own fancies on how to avert the threat and make something again, finally, of their lives, while Majid starts to once again come out into the world.
The major plus in Koenings writing is her extensive descriptive style, sometimes maybe a bit too much. One thing she cannot be faulted for is a lack of characterization. She delves deep into the psyche of her characters and makes us empathize and understand them from within. It appears this book did not receive much traction and I’ m not sure how much she wrote after this, but I would like to try some more of her work for sure. At times plot seems to have been sacrificed for her deep explorations into human psyche, but this is forgivable for sure. A slow, dreamy read, but surely worth a look into.
The tale takes place in an East African city, after the colonial powers have left. The place is a melting pot of Africans, Indians, Westerners among others who have made the place home a long time ago. In the midst of this maelstrom, Sarie Turner, a former nurse, witnesses an accident which will change the course of her relatively unsatisfying existence. The victim is the son of a member of the Jeevanjee clan, a family of Indian origins known for their business acumen and wealth creation, and the aggressor an old truck. She and her daughter take the boy to a hospital, where his leg has to be amputated, and she decides to pay the boy a visit after he is well. On her visits to the Jeevanjee household, we get to learn more about the reclusive father – Mad Majid as the neighbors have started referring to him. Majid, unlike the rest of his mostly illustrious family, is not exactly a roaring success in his enterprises and has been in mourning ever since his wife died years earlier.
The third major character is Gilbert Turner, Sarie’s husband. Gilbert is one of the few foreigners to stay back in the city after the colonials gave up power and he spends his days in a semi dreamy state of aspiring to something greater which he feels he is destined for, while at the same time being hindered by the creeping suspicion that this is just as far as he will get in an uneventful life. Seemingly content to while his days away finding various travel books to read upon and appear a man of the world, his hold on his wife’s emotions have long ceased to have any effect and the marriage appears an arrangement of convenience till the inevitable final nail. As Sarie and Majid delve into an unconventional affair, Gilbert is one day shocked out his languor by an ultimatum from an uncle in faraway London who threatens his stipend and his lifestyle. From here on in, both Sarie and Gilbert come up with their own fancies on how to avert the threat and make something again, finally, of their lives, while Majid starts to once again come out into the world.
The major plus in Koenings writing is her extensive descriptive style, sometimes maybe a bit too much. One thing she cannot be faulted for is a lack of characterization. She delves deep into the psyche of her characters and makes us empathize and understand them from within. It appears this book did not receive much traction and I’ m not sure how much she wrote after this, but I would like to try some more of her work for sure. At times plot seems to have been sacrificed for her deep explorations into human psyche, but this is forgivable for sure. A slow, dreamy read, but surely worth a look into.
September 27, 2008
I really liked this book. It was lent to me by a friend. I liked the weird provisionality of the characters' lives, the evocation of an East African city, the relationship between this place and Europe, the way the different people had such separate, yet interwoven lives. It is a deeply erotic novel, but in a subtle way. The marriage at the centre of the book breaks my heart, and reminds me how hard it is for people to connect once they are familiar with each other.
March 4, 2021
"The Blue Taxi" by N.S. Koenings
Reviewed on 04 February 2021
I really wanted to like this book, but could not get into it. The author has a unique style of writing that did not resonate with me. I also could not keep up with all the unfamiliar names and places. I read on and on and realised that there was nothing more interesting about these people's lives that grants me spending any more time on this book. I got to half way through, still could not formulate a good reason for me to continue reading, and finally decided to put it down for good.
Reviewed on 04 February 2021
I really wanted to like this book, but could not get into it. The author has a unique style of writing that did not resonate with me. I also could not keep up with all the unfamiliar names and places. I read on and on and realised that there was nothing more interesting about these people's lives that grants me spending any more time on this book. I got to half way through, still could not formulate a good reason for me to continue reading, and finally decided to put it down for good.
February 5, 2009
I liked this book. I marked it with four stars because I really liked the writing in this book--the language,the way it was put together, the sense of peace and beauty as I read it. I enjoyed the language quite a bit more than I enjoyed the story.
I do think this is an interesting ride and one worth taking. I'm curious about Koenings story collection and will most likely read that as well. I've heard her speak, and her voice really comes through her work. That's one thing about writers that fascinates me. Hearing an interview or meeting them in person spikes my interest level in their work enormously. So I read this and I don't regret it.
If you're interested in how people of other cultures manage their culture in the "foreign" society, do pick this up. It follows a woman who lives with her husband and daughter in a situation that can best be described as colonial. They are white surrounded by brown. Usually the work I read is the other way around. The woman begins an affair with a native. The woman is in poverty. Her husband is searching for a way to be something better than what he is.
Sorry to be so bare bones about it. I think it's best discovered for yourself in this case. Happy reading!
I do think this is an interesting ride and one worth taking. I'm curious about Koenings story collection and will most likely read that as well. I've heard her speak, and her voice really comes through her work. That's one thing about writers that fascinates me. Hearing an interview or meeting them in person spikes my interest level in their work enormously. So I read this and I don't regret it.
If you're interested in how people of other cultures manage their culture in the "foreign" society, do pick this up. It follows a woman who lives with her husband and daughter in a situation that can best be described as colonial. They are white surrounded by brown. Usually the work I read is the other way around. The woman begins an affair with a native. The woman is in poverty. Her husband is searching for a way to be something better than what he is.
Sorry to be so bare bones about it. I think it's best discovered for yourself in this case. Happy reading!
April 17, 2008
Finally able to get this book! Set in Africa, a love story that begins with a car crash, an injured young local boy, the boy's father(considered a dangerous man), and a Belgian housewife with a ho-hum life who becomes involved with this isolated and supposedly violent man against the advice of fearful villagers.
This was okay. After the first fourth of the book,I skimmed rather than read because the story wasn't very believable and the character develpoment was weak. Could have been good, but wasn't.
This was okay. After the first fourth of the book,I skimmed rather than read because the story wasn't very believable and the character develpoment was weak. Could have been good, but wasn't.
December 8, 2014
Didn't have the patience, I disliked the style of the storytelling from the first page, I started skipping paragraphs on page 3, closed it on page 10. Maybe it was worth a harder try, but I just didn't have the patience.
August 14, 2012
Some great characters and a wonderful essay on the human condition, but a bit too over-descriptive for my liking. Read the entire book but would not really recommend it.
November 29, 2016
Phenomenal work of literary fiction. An incredible tale of love, loss, and what happens when fate pushes people together. The language and description were mesmerizingly beautiful.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews