Books I read in March & the Reflections they Evoked

Today morning as I settled down to write about the African/Black writers’ books I read in March, I got a curious phone call. The man on the line, who seemed to be in a very noisy place, from the shouting in the background, announced to me that he was calling me from the auspicious Royal Media Services.

I had become a celebrity who needed to be honoured with Kshs. 75, 799.00 or something like that for having held on to my Safaricom line for over 3 years. I must say I felt thrilled at the possibility of being aired on Citizen Radio while receiving three quarters of 100,000/= plus some interest. Just for holding onto a line for over 3 years – the man should ask me how many hours of design slogging you have to put in to get that sort of money in the built environment! And we are talking about the engagement of some of the brainiest fellows in the country.

It turned out that before I could get the money, I had to inform the caller where I lived, what I do for a living and whether my phone was a smart phone or a mulika mwizi. I told him I am a mama mboga who resides in Kawangware with a Nokia kabambe.

That is how I lost my prize money because to receive the tranche (kitita cha fedha) I needed to read a message he was going to send as we continued with our conversation about the windfall. He quickly hang-up when I told him I neither had another phone that he could send his message to nor did I have anyone near me whose phone number I could divulge to him for the same purpose.

Truly our conmen have graduated to great heights of conmanship. Not so yours truly in my quest to read as many books written by Africans/Blacks as possible . In fact, I must confess that in the last month I regressed to reading books that I would have read as set books were I in high school. I had to otherwise I would have failed to achieve my goal of at least two books authored by African/black writers in a month.

It felt like cheating as I settled in to devour The Samaritan by John Lara that I borrowed for the night from my niece. By some interesting coincidence I completed the book as our gardener was busy mowing grass near my house, succeeding in the process, to take me right back to the classroom I would have sat reading such a book many decades back. It was a beautiful going back in time to my literature lessons I must confess.

Other than take me back to my O’level classroom, the play reminded me of the drama festivals I participated in back then. I was struck too by the fact that though set in the Caribbeans the plot could as well have been Nairobi County Council (or Nairobi City Council). I am not sure I buy the promise of an App developed by two students and their teacher succeeding in saving us from the rot we have sunk into though, the reality is a lot more complicated than the author would like his readers to believe. Is that what they call hyperbole! or is it a miracle?

This African/black writer reading challenge is now threatening to make me read all the English Literature set books in my house. I bought those books with my hard earned cash for my high school going children, yet I never could get myself to read them. Talk of seasons! Presently, I am letting the wisdom of my people guide me; for the say mundu ndouyaa na luko lwake luko aieni (you shouldn’t get burnt when your wooden spoon is near you). Although that has made me wonder whether they would use their bare hands to mix hot gravy if the wooden spoon wasn’t near! The two per month challenge is slowly becoming an obsession!

As a result I have been trying to figure how I got here in the first place. The idea must have been conceived in my mind towards the end of last year when I borrowed two books from my brother’s home library. If you want your books to be safe with me – hide them in a place I will not see them! I resisted the urge to look at the collection as I sat in his house but saw myself gravitating towards the bookshelf before I left.

That is how I ended up reading Auma Obama’s memoir – And Then Life Happens. How could I resist Barack Obama’s sister’s book, perish the thought! It was a fascinating read. I realised as I read her story, unless someone shares their struggles it is impossible to recognise them (jambo usilolijua ni kama usiku wa giza – that which you do not know is like a dark night). More so if the other party comes from what you would consider a privileged background then we imagine their lives are problems free! Those are some of the illusions of my youthful days.

I had the same thought as I read Cece’s memoir that I mentioned in my last blog on books I am reading. I must confess I never got to know much about the backgrounds of my schoolmates. If I could rewind and go back to school now, I would spend a lot more time just speaking to my classmates and schoolmates about their experiences at home and learning their home languages! Wishful thinking.

The other matter of interest was that And Then Life Happens was originally written in German! Indicating a small intersection of experiences by association with Auma, but do I say! Having gone to Germany via a scholarship from DAAD, Auma spent time in Saarbrucken. I recall many a letter that I posted and received from that German city in the early 1990s! That shared experience somehow made me feel that I could relate with this girl. The lies we tell ourselves!

Fantasies aside, I was really impressed by the work Dr. Auma’s foundation Sauti Kuu Foundation is doing with the young people, as per her organization’s website.

Lest I forget the second book I borrowed from my brother was Chimamanda’s Americanah – this is on my April reading list together with President Yoweri Museveni’s memoir. I have already covered both substantially, but they are not easy reads like The Samaritan which I almost completed in one sitting.

I’d like to share some striking reflections from reading Chimamanda’s The Thing Around Your Neck, my second March read, next. I’m also looking forward to get my hands on a copy of Dream Count, her latest novel, which would make her the author whose works I’ve read the most. I hope the eloquence rub off on me in the process!

What books are you currently reading? What memories or reflections do they stir up for you?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.