The latest addition to my website is Scholastique Mukasonga‘s Sister Deborah. The novel is set in Rwanda when it was a Belgian colony. A ,mission consisting of black Americans comes to a village in Rwanda, with Sister Deborah seemingly the leader. She seems to have the gift of healing and helps many, including Ikirezi, the … Read more
The latest addition to my website is Paulina Chiziane‘s O alegre canto da perdiz (The Joyful Cry of the Partridge). This is a part realist story but one told on a mythical level as Chiziane damns sexism, racism, colonialism, mixed race marriage and polygamy. We start with Maria das Dores, found wandering and naked in … Read more
The latest addition to my website is Mithu Sanyal‘s Identitti (Identitti). The book is narrated by a German-born blogger (Polish mother, Indian father), Nivedita Anand, who talks to Kali (the goddess) in her blog about racism, identity politics and related issues, Her mentor, to whom she is devoted, is Saraswati who teaches and writes about … Read more
The latest addition to my website is Jonathan Coe‘s Bournville. This might be described as a state of the nation novel, as we follow an extended family from VE Day to the present day and the covid pandemic. The main character is Mary Lamb, based on Coe’s mother as he tells us in the afterword, … Read more
The latest addition to my website is Shalom Auslander‘s Mother for Dinner. This is a wickedly funny satire on identity politics and racism. Our hero is Seventh Seltzer and he is a Cannibal American (CA). The CA first immigrated to the US in 1918 though no-one seems to be sure where the Old Country is … Read more
The latest addition to my website is Josef Pánek‘s Láska v době globálních klimatických změn [Love in the Time of Global Climate Change]. This is a witty (with Czech-style wit) novel about racism and racial differences. Tomáš is a divorced molecular biologist, attending a conference in Bangalore. He does not like the place – the … Read more