Shalimar the Clown, by Salman Rushdie

This is the first book by Salman Rushdie that I ever read. Initially, I wanted to start with his other book which landed him a fatwa - The Satanic Verses - since it was out of stock I read Shalimar instead.

A very well written book about a young indian village girl-a dancer, who marries his childhood sweetheart-an entertainer a.k.a clown, later turned killer, and leaves him later on for an american ambassador, a married guy with a frigid wife hence the roving eye. In the end, things don't go as she thought they would and she goes back to the village, where she lives as an outcast, until her husband comes to kill her. Let me not spill more beans now.
I really liked the way the story flows though Salman tends to take meandering paths to get to the point, so if you are impatient, it might not really tickle you. There was one section where he went on about some parties (political) and they were all abbreviated (HDG, KIR, MJU, ALZ, BPT etc) It looked crazy but since i skipped that page, i was alright with it:-)

The last part of the book was wonderful, did not want to put it down. A really nice book, not fast paced but has parts that grip. Definately 8 out of 10.

Review by Chatterly

MESKEL

I always thought of Ethiopia or Ethopia as I so fondly love to call this marvelous African gem, as a place where chics have this incredibly soft and oddishly but nice wavy hair…I still do by the way, but after reading this story my perspective of these beautiful people was refined. This land, this high land- “The roof of Africa”- is the setting of Meskel. A story about Greek immigrants that moved into Ethiopia in the early 20­­­th century, the story is nothing but illustrious, a documentary of sorts telling graphically, a story of a people endowed with a rich culture. It is against this background that Mellina and Lucas Fanouris now Kenyan immigrants (I know!! Don’t they ever get tired of their nomadism?!) tell the 2-generation story which culminates in their fleeing their “homeland” during Mengistu Haile Mariam’s “Red Terror”, remember?
Yeah that’s the I-want-to-sound-knowledgeable-opinion; this is my raw take: I think it’s a book that you’ll be proud to read, not because its interesting but because it’s an “EthOpian family saga”, you get my drill? Yeah its those books that you’ll read for months at times putting it away so far because its exhausting to read details of some ‘immaculatte’ orthodox catholic ceremony, because, well the cover defines drab and yes sometimes it’ll leave you wondering “What the hell am I doing reading this? Isshh?”.
But hey don’t listen to me, believe it or not, I know about the “RED TERROR” now and the barbaric tyranny of Haile Mariam and the ‘glorious’ reign of the Emperor Haile Sellasie and his down fall on his 80th birthday? I forget… Anyway it’s a great book for y’all out there with literary egos and a knack for historical and socio-political literature.
In my honest opinion though, out of five yawns: I give it 3. Out of ten laughs,: I give it 0.5.
Real stories are made realer by pictures? Well you won’t be disappointed there…
Read Meskel…(1926-1981).

Review by Bantutu

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I first heard of this writer when she was featured in the Sunday Nation magazine premium stuff so no link, some time last year. I was very impressed because it was the first article that took so much space in the said paper and did not contain useless phrases like ‘ so how do you manage to balance being wife, mother, full time worker blah blah. “or alternatively “is there a man in your life.” Duh...!

Anyway on to the book.
It is a beautiful simple story through the eyes of 15 year old Nigerian girl living under the wings of a tyrannical father. At the end of it all I hated her father with such a passion, his being a tithing, not to mention generous, Christian notwithstanding. The man did not even talk to his own father because the said father had not converted to Christianity! The things he does to his own family members in the name of Christianity are abominable to say the least.

The book is an easy read most readers will have something to relate to within the story be it the unbelievable amount of corruption, hypocrisy, growing up, a girl’s first crush (even if it is a priest), university strikes, womanhood, endless blackouts, military coups.

The cover is really pretty too though you must not judge a book by that only.I plan on reading more of her books and short stories.

Other writing by the same author
http://www.ulg.ac.be/facphl/uer/d-german/L3/cnaindex.html

Review by: prousette