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

LOST LAKE: PHILLIP MARGOLIN

I LOVE MARGOLIN! But unfortunately I hated this book.

Anyone who has read Margolin knows that his books are fast paced. I once spent the whole night reading sleeping beauty. But that’s not the book I wonna talk about. Its lost lake.

Ok let me start from the beginning, the entire book is a cliché, as you read it you get the feeling that you have read this story before. A guy was in some highly secret army unit established by (wait for it……) a guy who is now standing for president of the US of A! All the records of the unit have been inevitable expunged aaaaand made to look like the guy was in a mental hospital! YAWN. And there is the daughter of the candidate who absolutely loathes her father and AGAIN was hospitalized in a mental institute to discredit her! YAAAAWN!

The guy manages to escape from Vietnam and lives anonymously in some small town until an incident in a little league game puts him back in the spotlight and within the clutches of the presidential candidate.

This is one of those books I did not care what happened to the characters, I was not rooting for anyone to hook up with anyone else. And I hoped that at the end of the book they would ALL die, just so that the author will not be tempted to write a sequel! But alas, they all lived.

At the end there is an absolutely unbelievable, didn’t see that coming hook up! To repeat myself, I absolutely, positively hated this book. But I still love Margolin and will wait for his next book.

Currently reading Final Target by IRIS JOHANSEN.