Black Mamba Boy: From the Booker prize-shortlisted author of THE FORTUNE MEN - Softcover

Mohamed, Nadifa

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007315740 ISBN 13: 9780007315741

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2010

Synopsis

Named as one of the GRANTA BEST OF YOUNG BRITISH NOVELISTS 2013.

For fans of Half of a Yellow Sun, a stunning novel set in 1930s Somalia spanning a decade of war and upheaval, all seen through the eyes of a small boy alone in the world.

Aden,1935; a city vibrant, alive, and full of hidden dangers. And home to Jama, a ten year-old boy. But then his mother dies unexpectedly and he finds himself alone in the world.

Jama is forced home to his native Somalia, the land of his nomadic ancestors. War is on the horizon and the fascist Italian forces who control parts of East Africa are preparing for battle. Yet Jama cannot rest until he discovers whether his father, who has been absent from his life since he was a baby, is alive somewhere.

And so begins an epic journey which will take Jama north through Djibouti, war-torn Eritrea and Sudan, to Egypt. And from there, aboard a ship transporting Jewish refugees just released from German concentration camp, across the seas to Britain and freedom.

This story of one boy's long walk to freedom is also the story of how the Second World War affected Africa and its people; a story of displacement and family.

About this title

Review:

‘Loved Black Mamba Boy. Utterly compelling, an assured debut. An incredible insight into a slice of recent African history that is so rarely given light’
Alex Wheatle, award-winning author of East of Acre Lane and Brixton Rock

Amazon Vine reviews:

‘A great read, colourful and powerful’

‘One of the most wonderful things I have ever read...I was held spellbound by this book’

‘Rich description and a fascinating story’

‘Nadifa Mohamed's writing is emotional and evocative and as well as lyrical landscape descriptions or relationship revelations she does not flinch from the harrowing reality of a cruelly chaotic part of the world. This is a 5-star book deserving similar acclaim and success to “The Kite Runner”’

From the Back Cover:

Yemen, 1935. Jama is a half-feral child scavenging with his friends in the dusty streets of a great seaport. For Jama, life is a carnival, at least when he can fill his belly. When his mother dies young, she leaves him only an amulet stuffed with one hundred rupees. Jama decides to spend her life's meager savings to search for his missing father, rumored to be a driver for the British in the north. So begins Jama's extraordinary journey of more than a thousand miles to Egypt. He slings himself from one perilous city to another, fiercely enjoying life on the road and relying on his vast clan network to shelter him and point the way to his father, who always seems just out of reach. In his travels, Jama will witness scenes of great humanity and brutality; he will be caught up in the indifferent, grinding machine of war; he will crisscross the Red Sea in search of working papers and a ship.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0007315740
• ISBN 13: 9780007315741
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288