Ost-Afrika: what the Germans left
Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah My rating: 4 of 5 stars Abdulrazak Gurnah has given us a vivid reimagining of the Africans’ experience during and following the German administration and wars in Deutsch-Ost-Afrika, German East Africa, from the 1880s until the defeat of Germany in November 1918, when the victors then divided up the enormous, formerly … read more »
Des jeux mortels: André Gide, Les faux-monnayeurs
Les vies de douzaines de personnages, entre eux des étudiants de bachelier ou mineurs, leurs parents et leurs professeurs, s’entrechoquent dans ce roman qui parle des conflits intergénérationnels, leurs jeux sociaux et leur cruauté, mais principalement de la création littéraire. Le romancier Édouard, l’oncle et figure de référence de ces «enfants » , est en … read more »
Research: Fact and fancy in historical fiction
After reading A Gift for the Sultan and my latest novel, Rabble! , friend and fellow novelist Peter de Lissovoy (links below) wrote me: “I hate to think of all the research you did. But it must have been a joy at times, as you made discoveries, it must have been, given the joy and … read more »
From the confused little country
Les Aurores montréales by Monique Proulx My rating: 5 of 5 stars I must have bought this book on my last trip to Montreal, more than 20 years ago, but only now got around to reading it. Brilliant portraits of very different lives in this complex, vibrant metropolis, from the points of view of sophisticated … read more »
The Mediterranean world circa 1520
Leo the African by Amin Maalouf My rating: 4 of 5 stars Amin Malouf’s first novel is a wonderfully vivid reimagining of the life of Hasan al-Wazzan, better known as Leo Africanus, the 16th century chronicler whose Della descrittione dell’Africa et delle cose notabili che iui sono was for decades Europe’s principal reference work on … read more »