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Past Imperfect #3
Crossbones
A gripping new novel from today's "most important African novelist". ( The New York Times Review of Books ), the internationally acclaimed author of North of Dawn A dozen years after his last visit, Jeebleh returns to his beloved Mogadiscio to see old friends. He is accompanied by his son-in-law, Malik, a journalist intent on covering the region's ongoing turmoil. What greets them at first is not the chaos Jeebleh remembers, however, but an eerie calm enforced by ubiquitous white-robed figures bearing whips. Meanwhile, Malik's brother, Ahl, has arrived in Puntland, the region notorious as a pirates' base. Ahl is searching for his stepson, Taxliil, who has vanished from Minneapolis, apparently recruited by an imam allied to Somalia's rising religious insurgency. The brothers' efforts draw them closer to Taxliil and deeper into the fabric of the country, even as Somalis brace themselves for an Ethiopian invasion. Jeebleh leaves Mogadiscio only a few hours before the borders are breached and raids descend from land and sea. As the uneasy quiet shatters and the city turns into a battle zone, the brothers experience firsthand the derailments of war. Completing the trilogy that began with Links and Knots , Crossbones is a fascinating look at individuals caught in the maw of zealotry, profiteering, and political conflict, by one of our most highly acclaimed international writers.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2011
36 people are currently reading
871 people want to read
About the author
Nuruddin Farah
31 books337 followersNuruddin Farah (Somali: Nuuradiin Faarax, Arabic: نور الدين فرح) is a prominent Somali novelist. Farah has garnered acclaim as one of the greatest contemporary writers in the world, his prose having earned him accolades including the Premio Cavour in Italy, the Kurt Tucholsky Prize in Sweden, the Lettre Ulysses Award in Berlin, and in 1998, the prestigious Neustadt International Prize for Literature. In the same year, the French edition of his novel Gifts won the St Malo Literature Festival's prize. In addition, Farah is a perennial nominee for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
October 12, 2012
High-octane, high-seas shanties; eye-patches and cutlasses; bounties and buccaneers: all are conspicuous by their absence in 'Crossbones', Nuruddin Farah's gruelling yet gripping account of life in modern-day Somalia - it's piracy, but not as we know it.
Farah is ideally placed to examine the extraordinary strife afflicting his homeland, which he talks about in an excellent recent Guardian interview. 'Crossbones' - its piratical reference deployed with a delicious hint of irony - is the third and final book of his latest trilogy, though it stands alone. Where 'Links' (2006) explored the post-US invasion rise of Mogadishu's clan warlords, and 'Knots' (2007) concentrated on its virtual takeover by the hardline Islamist group Shaabab, 'Crossbones' is set in the vacuum of power that followed: Ethiopia is preparing to invade, Shaabab are scurrying for cover, and a murderous lawlessness reigns. 'Let's face it,' explains one of a seemingly limitless number of shady go-betweens, 'I, too, like so many others, profited from the turmoil. Turbulence upsets things, sends the dregs to the top. We are enjoying the turmoil and are unfettered by tax laws, a parliament issuing decrees, a dictator passing edicts, a government declaring draconian measures: the ideal situation for growth of capital.'
'Crossbones' charts the respective journeys of Jeebleh, his son-in-law Malik, and Malik's brother, Ahl, all American citizens, who return to their homeland ostensibly in order to search for Ahl's adopted son Taxliil, who has disappeared along with a group of other young Somali-American men from their homes in Minnesota, said to have been recruited by Shaabab with the lure of martyrdom.
While Jeebleh and Malik, a ambitious and intrepid war correspondent who intends to use the trip to file state-of-the-nation features, head to the chaotic capital, Ahl bases himself in semi-automous Puntland, where relative peace reigns, but so-called piracy proliferates.
Farah travelled extensively in Somalia to research his novel, and it shows. He has described his quest to chronicle the gradual breakdown of his homeland as a desire 'to keep my country alive by writing about it.'
'Crossbones' often feels as much Farah's personal interpretation of his nation as it does out-and-out fiction: while the search for Taxliil always underpins the novel, the plot unfurls slowly, often through long conversational pieces and the author's own exposition. This is not intended as a negative, far from it - though those who prefer their pirate adventures to do exactly what they say on the tin perhaps ought to look away now (Elmore Leonard's cliche-laden 'Djibouti' would be a good place to start).
What emerges out of a tough, complicated but rewarding read is a vivid portrait of a country clinging onto its nationhood by its fingertips, where chronic paranoia places journalists at the top of innumberable hit-lists, and where religious radicalization is rife among the young, often inadvertently perpetuated by the clumsy actions of the west.
But what the Somalis whom Malik and Ahl encounter in their search for Taxliil seem most eager to shatter is the myth that Puntland's pirates live lives of luxury, funded by multi-million dollar off-shore ransoms. The reality, they insist, is entirely different: its stocks decimated by illegal incursions into their waters, Somalia's northern fishing fleet had little option but to pursue foreign ships for a form of insurance: from it grew a headline-grabbing industry driven by bankers and shipping magnates across the world, who divide the so-called ransom between themselves, leaving next to nothing for the kid in the skiff with the AK47 slung awkwardly round his neck, except the vilification of the watching world, and the ridiculous re-drawing of him as some sort of modern-day Blackbeard.
There's no glamour here. Farah's writing is hard and unflinching, shorn of all unnecessary accoutrements, and while his love for his country shines through, so too does his pessimism for its future:
'While there is always a beginning to an argument, there is never an end, never a logical conclusion to their disputation. Somalis are in a rich form when holding forth; they are in their element when they are spilling blood.'
For piratical stereotypes, direct yourself to Elmore Leonard. For a fascinating and exhaustive insight into what is really happening in the Horn of Africa, look beyond the news headlines and find a way to Nuruddin Farah.
Farah is ideally placed to examine the extraordinary strife afflicting his homeland, which he talks about in an excellent recent Guardian interview. 'Crossbones' - its piratical reference deployed with a delicious hint of irony - is the third and final book of his latest trilogy, though it stands alone. Where 'Links' (2006) explored the post-US invasion rise of Mogadishu's clan warlords, and 'Knots' (2007) concentrated on its virtual takeover by the hardline Islamist group Shaabab, 'Crossbones' is set in the vacuum of power that followed: Ethiopia is preparing to invade, Shaabab are scurrying for cover, and a murderous lawlessness reigns. 'Let's face it,' explains one of a seemingly limitless number of shady go-betweens, 'I, too, like so many others, profited from the turmoil. Turbulence upsets things, sends the dregs to the top. We are enjoying the turmoil and are unfettered by tax laws, a parliament issuing decrees, a dictator passing edicts, a government declaring draconian measures: the ideal situation for growth of capital.'
'Crossbones' charts the respective journeys of Jeebleh, his son-in-law Malik, and Malik's brother, Ahl, all American citizens, who return to their homeland ostensibly in order to search for Ahl's adopted son Taxliil, who has disappeared along with a group of other young Somali-American men from their homes in Minnesota, said to have been recruited by Shaabab with the lure of martyrdom.
While Jeebleh and Malik, a ambitious and intrepid war correspondent who intends to use the trip to file state-of-the-nation features, head to the chaotic capital, Ahl bases himself in semi-automous Puntland, where relative peace reigns, but so-called piracy proliferates.
Farah travelled extensively in Somalia to research his novel, and it shows. He has described his quest to chronicle the gradual breakdown of his homeland as a desire 'to keep my country alive by writing about it.'
'Crossbones' often feels as much Farah's personal interpretation of his nation as it does out-and-out fiction: while the search for Taxliil always underpins the novel, the plot unfurls slowly, often through long conversational pieces and the author's own exposition. This is not intended as a negative, far from it - though those who prefer their pirate adventures to do exactly what they say on the tin perhaps ought to look away now (Elmore Leonard's cliche-laden 'Djibouti' would be a good place to start).
What emerges out of a tough, complicated but rewarding read is a vivid portrait of a country clinging onto its nationhood by its fingertips, where chronic paranoia places journalists at the top of innumberable hit-lists, and where religious radicalization is rife among the young, often inadvertently perpetuated by the clumsy actions of the west.
But what the Somalis whom Malik and Ahl encounter in their search for Taxliil seem most eager to shatter is the myth that Puntland's pirates live lives of luxury, funded by multi-million dollar off-shore ransoms. The reality, they insist, is entirely different: its stocks decimated by illegal incursions into their waters, Somalia's northern fishing fleet had little option but to pursue foreign ships for a form of insurance: from it grew a headline-grabbing industry driven by bankers and shipping magnates across the world, who divide the so-called ransom between themselves, leaving next to nothing for the kid in the skiff with the AK47 slung awkwardly round his neck, except the vilification of the watching world, and the ridiculous re-drawing of him as some sort of modern-day Blackbeard.
There's no glamour here. Farah's writing is hard and unflinching, shorn of all unnecessary accoutrements, and while his love for his country shines through, so too does his pessimism for its future:
'While there is always a beginning to an argument, there is never an end, never a logical conclusion to their disputation. Somalis are in a rich form when holding forth; they are in their element when they are spilling blood.'
For piratical stereotypes, direct yourself to Elmore Leonard. For a fascinating and exhaustive insight into what is really happening in the Horn of Africa, look beyond the news headlines and find a way to Nuruddin Farah.
December 12, 2013
I was excited to meet Jeebleh and Cambara again from the first two books of the "Past Imperfect" trilogy. And this is the best of the three, for me. A really engrossing story, and an enlightening representation of a Somalia best known for its piracy. And a really good ending (that is not a resolution).
The narrator goes out of his way not only to educate us about the origins of that piracy, but even to embed reading recommendations within the text. Which might seem a bit preachy--but it's eye-opening stuff. Fact from my secondary reading: international poaching of fish from Somalia's rich and extensive coastal waters, which is permitted by those gunboats sent to stop the pirates, takes away more protein than is provided by international food aid. The origin of the piracy was attempts by fishermen to protect their coastal fishing grounds.
The narrator goes out of his way not only to educate us about the origins of that piracy, but even to embed reading recommendations within the text. Which might seem a bit preachy--but it's eye-opening stuff. Fact from my secondary reading: international poaching of fish from Somalia's rich and extensive coastal waters, which is permitted by those gunboats sent to stop the pirates, takes away more protein than is provided by international food aid. The origin of the piracy was attempts by fishermen to protect their coastal fishing grounds.
November 26, 2020
2.5 stars. And that’s the that on that.
April 7, 2016
I was really engrossed in this novel at the beginning. It starts in medias res, and it also begins following the perspective of peripheral rather than central characters. It also plunges you into the streets of Mogadishu. In an odd way, though it's following a would-be suicide bomber and an upper-class woman he meets on the street, it feels a lot like Mrs. Dalloway, which reminded me of Teju Cole's Twitter essay, "Seven Short Stories about Drones." Like Cole's essay, this novel demonstrates in its plot and form that it is impossible to continue the modernist novel, focused on individual consciousness, personal experience, and the unfolding connectivity of the urban landscape, in the context of terrorism and civil war. Individual consciousness is subject to brainwashing or trauma; personal experience is eclipsed by a perpetual state of emergency, and the urban landscape connects people through mobs rather than maps, constantly ruptured by explosions and collisions. When Farah kills two of the central characters from the first third of the novel, you realize how far afield from Mrs. Dalloway (not merely geographically but geopolitically) we are.
In that, the novel is very powerful. Additionally, as a meditation on age and youth. Three of the most compelling characters--Jeebleh, his boyhood friend Bile, and then the old man who YoungThing stumbles across when he tries to occupy his house for Shabab--are all elderly men who have witnessed generations of upheaval and bloodshed under different banners in Somalia. Radical Islam is only the latest in a series of regimes. The novel comes to center around two middle-aged men, Malik and Ahl, raised away from Somalia who are coming back to the country to make sense of its present and future. Somalia's future, however, seems potentially grim because the terrorist groups exploit the illusions of youth, so the boys we meet in the novel (YoungThing, Taxlil, Ahmed who has changed his name to a nom de guerre) have been radicalized and seem crucially warped by their manipulability and volatility. Youth, instead of meaning hope, comes to represent a threat of explosiveness that can be harnessed to actual explosions. This volatility, counterposed with the meditative melancholy and bodily deterioration of Jeebleh and Bile, is really fascinating, and I imagine that this is the fruition of a trilogy that follows these men through their earlier years into old age.
The book becomes very exposition-y, which lost me a bit. There's a lot of rehearsal of Somalian history and political context, which at once seems absolutely necessary and also seems to require putting particularly compelling formal strategies and character perspectives into abeyance. Farah uses the journalistic interview to excuse these excurses, but they hurt the narrative momentum for me. Admittedly, I also finished the book a few weeks after I started it, so that also created a rupture in my experience of the plot that I'm not sure was good for the overall effect.
In that, the novel is very powerful. Additionally, as a meditation on age and youth. Three of the most compelling characters--Jeebleh, his boyhood friend Bile, and then the old man who YoungThing stumbles across when he tries to occupy his house for Shabab--are all elderly men who have witnessed generations of upheaval and bloodshed under different banners in Somalia. Radical Islam is only the latest in a series of regimes. The novel comes to center around two middle-aged men, Malik and Ahl, raised away from Somalia who are coming back to the country to make sense of its present and future. Somalia's future, however, seems potentially grim because the terrorist groups exploit the illusions of youth, so the boys we meet in the novel (YoungThing, Taxlil, Ahmed who has changed his name to a nom de guerre) have been radicalized and seem crucially warped by their manipulability and volatility. Youth, instead of meaning hope, comes to represent a threat of explosiveness that can be harnessed to actual explosions. This volatility, counterposed with the meditative melancholy and bodily deterioration of Jeebleh and Bile, is really fascinating, and I imagine that this is the fruition of a trilogy that follows these men through their earlier years into old age.
The book becomes very exposition-y, which lost me a bit. There's a lot of rehearsal of Somalian history and political context, which at once seems absolutely necessary and also seems to require putting particularly compelling formal strategies and character perspectives into abeyance. Farah uses the journalistic interview to excuse these excurses, but they hurt the narrative momentum for me. Admittedly, I also finished the book a few weeks after I started it, so that also created a rupture in my experience of the plot that I'm not sure was good for the overall effect.
January 15, 2012
I picked this up mostly based on "Oh yeah, I've heard the name Nuruddin Farah, I should read him" and the fact that Stephanie Huntwork made a beautiful cover for this novel. I've made bigger mistakes, to be sure.
It is the story of two Somali-American brothers who go to Somalia for different reasons: one to cover the story of the Courts' war with Ethiopia, one to find his missing stepson. It's potential for a great story, and it generally was.
However, it led sometimes into Kite Runner territory. Here are the two bright, strapping, American-educated men saving Somalia from itself. There are no positive Muslim characters and no negative secularist ones. Though there is some character depth, only Qasiir comes of as a multifaceted, complex, person. Everyone else is nefarious or crusading.
There has been some criticism of the dialogue, but I actually liked it. The way characters explain their situation and give expository on the country doesn't ring true to life, but I did enjoy it in a writerly sort of way. It reminds me of Foucault's Pendulum or any of the other books where characters are clear avatars of the writer's knowledge. It doesn't make for gripping plot, but it does allow for diatribe to be done skillfully.
As a man's opinion of Somalia, it is fascinating. I know incredibly little about the country, so to see how Mr. Farah views society there and the actions of the Somali diaspora is fascinating. Islamicists, Shabaab, Pirates, etc. are all discussed. And while it is obviously not scholarly, it is a good entry opinion. I enjoyed reading this book and learning about Somalia, from the 70's to today. Or at least Farah's opinion on such.
However, as a book, it can be weak. The way the Courts are shown as monsters and Somali diaspora as all great men is a bit tiring. The appearance of nagging wives is a bit tiring. Although I did find myself holding my breath through the denouement, I wasn't thrilled with how they got there.
It's a good book, if not a great one. And that's alright.
It is the story of two Somali-American brothers who go to Somalia for different reasons: one to cover the story of the Courts' war with Ethiopia, one to find his missing stepson. It's potential for a great story, and it generally was.
However, it led sometimes into Kite Runner territory. Here are the two bright, strapping, American-educated men saving Somalia from itself. There are no positive Muslim characters and no negative secularist ones. Though there is some character depth, only Qasiir comes of as a multifaceted, complex, person. Everyone else is nefarious or crusading.
There has been some criticism of the dialogue, but I actually liked it. The way characters explain their situation and give expository on the country doesn't ring true to life, but I did enjoy it in a writerly sort of way. It reminds me of Foucault's Pendulum or any of the other books where characters are clear avatars of the writer's knowledge. It doesn't make for gripping plot, but it does allow for diatribe to be done skillfully.
As a man's opinion of Somalia, it is fascinating. I know incredibly little about the country, so to see how Mr. Farah views society there and the actions of the Somali diaspora is fascinating. Islamicists, Shabaab, Pirates, etc. are all discussed. And while it is obviously not scholarly, it is a good entry opinion. I enjoyed reading this book and learning about Somalia, from the 70's to today. Or at least Farah's opinion on such.
However, as a book, it can be weak. The way the Courts are shown as monsters and Somali diaspora as all great men is a bit tiring. The appearance of nagging wives is a bit tiring. Although I did find myself holding my breath through the denouement, I wasn't thrilled with how they got there.
It's a good book, if not a great one. And that's alright.
January 8, 2012
• This is the 3rd bk in The Past Imperfect trilogy – I did not read the first two books. Each of the books looks at the recent period in the history of Somalia – the books are done in chronological order
• This book looks at the period right before the Ethiopian (w/ US help) invasion
• This book gives a personal look through the characters about what you read in the news about the conditions of Somalia. It helped put a lot of the current events into perspective for me.
• I am not quite sure how to describe the writing style – the best word I can up with is “jumpy” – while I enjoyed the storyline, the history and the characters – just never really felt like I lost myself in the flow of the story.
• The characters were complex & flawed – the author did a good job of developing them and they felt real.
• Liked that a lot of the storylines dealt with professional people who were struggling to make sense of their country. Really focused on the people from the Somalian diaspora – those that left and those that returned
• The various storylines showed how fragile and uncertain everything is when various groups band together against a common “enemy” and then the hard part is once the common enemy is vanished – how to move forward
• Several of the characters were the main focus of the earlier bks in the trilogy but this did not take-away from reading this story
• Not sure if I will go back and read the first two books in trilogy – while I expect the historical events/characters to be interesting – not sure about the writing style
• I did not feel connected to any of the characters – I do think that they were realistically portrayed but just did not feel any emotional attachment to them – do not know if this is the author’s writing style and was intentional
• This book looks at the period right before the Ethiopian (w/ US help) invasion
• This book gives a personal look through the characters about what you read in the news about the conditions of Somalia. It helped put a lot of the current events into perspective for me.
• I am not quite sure how to describe the writing style – the best word I can up with is “jumpy” – while I enjoyed the storyline, the history and the characters – just never really felt like I lost myself in the flow of the story.
• The characters were complex & flawed – the author did a good job of developing them and they felt real.
• Liked that a lot of the storylines dealt with professional people who were struggling to make sense of their country. Really focused on the people from the Somalian diaspora – those that left and those that returned
• The various storylines showed how fragile and uncertain everything is when various groups band together against a common “enemy” and then the hard part is once the common enemy is vanished – how to move forward
• Several of the characters were the main focus of the earlier bks in the trilogy but this did not take-away from reading this story
• Not sure if I will go back and read the first two books in trilogy – while I expect the historical events/characters to be interesting – not sure about the writing style
• I did not feel connected to any of the characters – I do think that they were realistically portrayed but just did not feel any emotional attachment to them – do not know if this is the author’s writing style and was intentional
July 15, 2016
Crossbones by Nuruddin Farah delves into modern day Somalia. It paints a picture of a very difficult country to live in, with no room for trust, even among family members. A man's stepson disappears from the USA suspected of being recruited from a Mosque there, to join Shabaab. The man travels to Somalia to search for the boy, with a journalist relative. The journalist, whilst in Somalia, interviews warlords, pirates and middlemen trying to get to the bottom of his question -- Why are Somalians still poor if piracy is said to benefit them?
The author handles sensitive topics about how various countries benefit from the non-governance of Somalia through illegal fishing and dumping of toxic waste. It deals with the illicit involvement of insurance companies in Europe in keeping the piracy alive. He also looks at the involvement of Ethiopia, USA and Kenya in fueling tensions and backing different forces in Somalia.
A very interesting book, jam packed with many political and global issues mainly conveyed through dialogue between the various characters and the interviews by the journalist. This book took a little longer than others I've read this year because I had to really concentrate and often go back to check on character names and link them to the current section I was reading - sometimes it got confusing.
I kept hoping the issues would become less strained, but then I realised that the author probably captured what it must feel like to live in a country without a regular governance structure, with invasions, warlords, insurgents, death, suicide bombings, foreign interests - where nothing is quite certain or stable.
The author handles sensitive topics about how various countries benefit from the non-governance of Somalia through illegal fishing and dumping of toxic waste. It deals with the illicit involvement of insurance companies in Europe in keeping the piracy alive. He also looks at the involvement of Ethiopia, USA and Kenya in fueling tensions and backing different forces in Somalia.
A very interesting book, jam packed with many political and global issues mainly conveyed through dialogue between the various characters and the interviews by the journalist. This book took a little longer than others I've read this year because I had to really concentrate and often go back to check on character names and link them to the current section I was reading - sometimes it got confusing.
I kept hoping the issues would become less strained, but then I realised that the author probably captured what it must feel like to live in a country without a regular governance structure, with invasions, warlords, insurgents, death, suicide bombings, foreign interests - where nothing is quite certain or stable.
April 1, 2014
An unusual and interesting novel about modern Somalia, a land which we normallyu get only a glimpse of from negative news reports. The author is a Somali living in Minneapolis (and Cape Town) who has an understanding of Somali culture and, thus, helps us understand what it would be like to walk the streets of Mogadiscio [his spelling] or Bosaso in Puntland. The plot deals with two American-Somali men who travel to these regions: one to try and find a young relative that he fears has left the US to join the Islamists; the other, a journalist, wants to find out the truths about what is happening in that country. The book has a strange feel about it, as it is written in the present tense which makes it seem like a stage play or film script at times. The searches that both men do are fraught with danger in a virtually lawless country while meeting strange characters with strange names, like Jeebleh, Gumaad, Taxliil, Bigbeard, Youngthing and Truthteller. It almost has a dreamlike quality to it. The pace of the plot is quite slow, but it needs to be to help the reader absorb what is revealed about a very foreign culture.
August 1, 2016
A difficult book to rate. There were a lot of characters and until I came to review the book I was unaware that this was part of a trilogy. There was also a lot of dialogue that gave the book a feel it was a series of journalistic articles linked by the stories Jeebleh, Malik and Ahl as they return to Somali. The scenes with YoungThing were the best as they were what is normally seen in a novel.
The dialogue does provide a better understanding as to the causes and effects of Somali pirates which was an eye-opener. It also discussed a country without governance, where many factions rise and fall and the impact of the invasion from Ethiopia. The country is a mess, life is cheap and hope is rare.
Maybe if I had read the previous books I would have known more about the characters as there was no character development in this one.
The dialogue does provide a better understanding as to the causes and effects of Somali pirates which was an eye-opener. It also discussed a country without governance, where many factions rise and fall and the impact of the invasion from Ethiopia. The country is a mess, life is cheap and hope is rare.
Maybe if I had read the previous books I would have known more about the characters as there was no character development in this one.
Read
January 29, 2019I can't even rate this book because I gave up about a quarter of the way through. Maybe I needed to start with the first in the trilogy. First, the present tense narration seemed awkward and alienating. Second, I couldn't get interested in any of the characters. They didn't seem to have much depth. Third, I got tired of being "told" things about the cultural context etc. in ways that were supposed to be unobtrusive but were really annoying after awhile. Example: A character stops in a cafe and buys injera bread. Enough said? Oh, no, we need to be told what injera bread is, where it comes from , what it tastes like because of course, the reader can't figure that out from context or look it up. Tiresome. It seemed more like the intro for a National Geographic feature article that never got past the opening narrative example.
October 27, 2013
Incredibly engaging book that reveals Somalia through the eyes of a native. The author, Nuruddin Farah uses history, his personal knowledge of the many dynamics, like piracy, that exist in Somalia to weave a story about a man and his two sons who travel to native Somalia at the time Ethiopia invades. One son, a journalist, is trying to get an interview with a Somali warlord, while his brother is trying to find his step-son who is mixed-up with El Shabob.
If you're looking for a book that gives you a modern day look at Somalia, this is a great book. Farah is a wonderful writer, and really depicts life in a nation that is consumed with distrust and anarchy--all of which are a part of everyday life in Mogadishu. It's a compelling and enlightening narrative, and I highly recommend it.
If you're looking for a book that gives you a modern day look at Somalia, this is a great book. Farah is a wonderful writer, and really depicts life in a nation that is consumed with distrust and anarchy--all of which are a part of everyday life in Mogadishu. It's a compelling and enlightening narrative, and I highly recommend it.
August 30, 2011
I won this book. Although intelligently written I felt a bit of a struggle to keep engaged completely by the story. Once I finally established the characters and got to know them it developed for me a little however once I reached the end I was quite disappointed. It's certainly not a bad book, it's just not one that was my cup of tea.
January 18, 2012
This book helped me understand how corrupt government affects people. The plot was slow and I had to concentrate to understand. I would not recommend this as a easy read, enjoyable read or anything other then a chance to learn how people survive when their government is corrupt, criminal and evil.
September 21, 2021
Somalia. For most, this country’s name conjures images of hunger, civil war, militiamen perched behind a machine gun on the back of a pick-up, terrorist attacks and piracy. When 25 years ago I landed in Hargeisa, I didn’t know much what to expect. I knew that the capital of Somaliland was different than Mogadishu and that the Northern part of the country lived in relative peace, despite the lack of international recognition. Still, I was a little bit anxious as I arrived. The airport would have deserved the old name of « airfield ». During the approach, a long strip of earth could be seen in a pasture that looked more or less flat on the city’s outskirts. The immigration office where my passport received its « Entry » and « Exit » stamps was just a military tent at the end of the airstrip.
I stayed for 2-3 days and everything was calm and peaceful, even if the city still showed some of the traces of the battles and destructions of 1991. The commercial activities were typical of a mid-size African town: shops with metal doors open, women walking to the market in their colorful dresses, schools receiving their first computers.
I recently read the « Past Imperfect » trilogy written by Somali author Nuruddin Farah. It includes three parts: « Links », « Knots » et « Crossbones». Even if the novelist doesn’t hide any of his country’s violence and drama, Farah’s three books open a window to discover a Somali society richer and more complex than the clichés repeated by the media.
In « Links », Jeebleh, a Somali academic exiled in New-York where he married an American, comes back after many years in Mogadishu following his mother’s death. During his arrival at the airport, a gang of idle young militiamen have some fun in shooting at a family boarding a plane. A young boy dies. Jeebleh needs to learn how to navigate this city divided in two by the factions of the two rival warlords. He reunites with Bileh, his childhood friend, who like him, was a political prisoner and is now in charge of a refuge for orphans and abandoned children. But he also needs to mistrust Caloosha, Bileh’s half-brother who is the leader of a gang involved in all kinds of traffics.
With the second volume, « Knots », it is Cambara, a young woman who debarks in Mogadishu from her exile in Toronto and tries to recover the family house, squatted by a warlord. The city is somewhat more peaceful, but Cambara needs to have an armed escort each time she goes somewhere. Her protector is Dajaal, one of Bileh’s friends. Thanks to their help and the assistance of other friends, she writes a play that she puts on for a women’s network who tries to reestablish peace.
The third and last tome of the trilogy brings us to a more recent period. The Union of Islamic Court brings order in Mogadishu, young Somalis from Minnesota come to swell the ranks of the Shabaab extremists, while further North, in Puntland, pirates ransom merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden. Two brothers, Malik and Ahl, arrive from the United States. Malik is a journalist who dreams of a scoop about modern piracy. He is accompanied by his father-in-law, Jeebleh, who introduces him in a circle of old friends, including Bileh and Cambara. They fell in love and live together, but without being married, a fact that irks the Islamic Courts. Ahl is in Puntland where he looks for his stepson Taxliil, a young Somali recruited by the Islamists in Shabaab, but who could actually be aboard a pirate embarkation. This way, he finds out about the links uniting Islamists and pirates. He also learns that the piracy along the Somali coast started as a violent reaction by local fishermen against industrial fishing boats who were pilfering illegally but with perfect impunity the country’s fish reserves.
Covering three different periods in the long civil war from which Somalia seems unable to extricate itself since 1991, the three parts of the trilogy follow the same schema: the main character comes home after a long exile, is confronted with the violence emanating from the current episode of the conflict, but nevertheless finds back new roots. Cambara found love and decides to stay and live in Mogadishu. Jeebleh, the exile from the first novel, returns in the third one. It’s difficult not see there Nuruddin Farah’s shadow. He is himself an exiled novelist, who said that his work was an attempt “to keep my country alive by writing about it”.
Somalia: Nurrudin Farah – Travel Readings
I stayed for 2-3 days and everything was calm and peaceful, even if the city still showed some of the traces of the battles and destructions of 1991. The commercial activities were typical of a mid-size African town: shops with metal doors open, women walking to the market in their colorful dresses, schools receiving their first computers.
I recently read the « Past Imperfect » trilogy written by Somali author Nuruddin Farah. It includes three parts: « Links », « Knots » et « Crossbones». Even if the novelist doesn’t hide any of his country’s violence and drama, Farah’s three books open a window to discover a Somali society richer and more complex than the clichés repeated by the media.
In « Links », Jeebleh, a Somali academic exiled in New-York where he married an American, comes back after many years in Mogadishu following his mother’s death. During his arrival at the airport, a gang of idle young militiamen have some fun in shooting at a family boarding a plane. A young boy dies. Jeebleh needs to learn how to navigate this city divided in two by the factions of the two rival warlords. He reunites with Bileh, his childhood friend, who like him, was a political prisoner and is now in charge of a refuge for orphans and abandoned children. But he also needs to mistrust Caloosha, Bileh’s half-brother who is the leader of a gang involved in all kinds of traffics.
With the second volume, « Knots », it is Cambara, a young woman who debarks in Mogadishu from her exile in Toronto and tries to recover the family house, squatted by a warlord. The city is somewhat more peaceful, but Cambara needs to have an armed escort each time she goes somewhere. Her protector is Dajaal, one of Bileh’s friends. Thanks to their help and the assistance of other friends, she writes a play that she puts on for a women’s network who tries to reestablish peace.
The third and last tome of the trilogy brings us to a more recent period. The Union of Islamic Court brings order in Mogadishu, young Somalis from Minnesota come to swell the ranks of the Shabaab extremists, while further North, in Puntland, pirates ransom merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden. Two brothers, Malik and Ahl, arrive from the United States. Malik is a journalist who dreams of a scoop about modern piracy. He is accompanied by his father-in-law, Jeebleh, who introduces him in a circle of old friends, including Bileh and Cambara. They fell in love and live together, but without being married, a fact that irks the Islamic Courts. Ahl is in Puntland where he looks for his stepson Taxliil, a young Somali recruited by the Islamists in Shabaab, but who could actually be aboard a pirate embarkation. This way, he finds out about the links uniting Islamists and pirates. He also learns that the piracy along the Somali coast started as a violent reaction by local fishermen against industrial fishing boats who were pilfering illegally but with perfect impunity the country’s fish reserves.
Covering three different periods in the long civil war from which Somalia seems unable to extricate itself since 1991, the three parts of the trilogy follow the same schema: the main character comes home after a long exile, is confronted with the violence emanating from the current episode of the conflict, but nevertheless finds back new roots. Cambara found love and decides to stay and live in Mogadishu. Jeebleh, the exile from the first novel, returns in the third one. It’s difficult not see there Nuruddin Farah’s shadow. He is himself an exiled novelist, who said that his work was an attempt “to keep my country alive by writing about it”.
Somalia: Nurrudin Farah – Travel Readings
July 30, 2020
“Gekapert“ ist die lose Fortsetzung von Farah's “Links“, kann aber auch alleine gelesen werden.
Jebleeh kehrt 2006 in seine Heimat Somalia zurück und findet anders als vor zehn Jahren kein Land voller Milizen oder Warlords vor sondern ein Somalia, welches von islamistischen Fanatikern kontrolliert wird.
Die einfachen Bürger sind der Willkür von Al Shabaab ausgeliefert.
Jebleeh begleitet seinen Schwiegersohn Malik, der als Journalist eine Story über die aktuellen Ereignisse in Somalia schreiben will. Sie geraten in einen unübersichtlichen Sumpf, man kann niemanden trauen.
Farah schreibt über ein Somalia im Jahre 2006. Seine großen Themen sind die islamistische Sekte, welche das Land regiert und das Piratentum in Somalia.
Sehr differenziert beschreibt er die Motive der Piraten. Seine Beschreibungen sind ohne Wertung.
Die Tatsache das vor zwanzig Jahren 95% der Küstenbewohner Fischer waren und heute nur noch 5% ist schockierend.
Somalia ist eigentlich ein Fischreiches Land mit der längsten Küste Afrikas.
Seit Mitte der neunziger haben illegale Fischfangflotten aus Europa, Russland oder Asien die kompletten Bestände befischt.
Gleichzeitig wird auch heute noch chemischer und radioaktiver Abfall vor den Küsten Somalias verklappt.
So das heute kein Fischfang mehr möglich ist und die Krebsraten in dem ohnehin Bürgerkrieg geplagten Land explodieren.
So verwundert es nicht, dass die Menschen ihr Heil in der Piraterie und dee Verteidigung ihrer Küsten suchen.
Aber auch die Piraten sind keine Kinder von Traurigkeit.
Farahs Stärke ist, wie immer diese genaue Beschreibung der Zustände in seinem Heimatland.
Seine Schwäche ist leider eine spannende Handlung zu erzeugen oder Charaktere, welche einem im Gedächtnis bleiben.
Farah gilt als einer der wichtigsten Afrikanischen Autoren. Eher wohl durch seine politische Agenda und nicht sein Stil.
Trotzdem ein wichtiges Buch, wobei Farah eher mal ein Sachbuch über das Thema schreiben sollte.
Jebleeh kehrt 2006 in seine Heimat Somalia zurück und findet anders als vor zehn Jahren kein Land voller Milizen oder Warlords vor sondern ein Somalia, welches von islamistischen Fanatikern kontrolliert wird.
Die einfachen Bürger sind der Willkür von Al Shabaab ausgeliefert.
Jebleeh begleitet seinen Schwiegersohn Malik, der als Journalist eine Story über die aktuellen Ereignisse in Somalia schreiben will. Sie geraten in einen unübersichtlichen Sumpf, man kann niemanden trauen.
Farah schreibt über ein Somalia im Jahre 2006. Seine großen Themen sind die islamistische Sekte, welche das Land regiert und das Piratentum in Somalia.
Sehr differenziert beschreibt er die Motive der Piraten. Seine Beschreibungen sind ohne Wertung.
Die Tatsache das vor zwanzig Jahren 95% der Küstenbewohner Fischer waren und heute nur noch 5% ist schockierend.
Somalia ist eigentlich ein Fischreiches Land mit der längsten Küste Afrikas.
Seit Mitte der neunziger haben illegale Fischfangflotten aus Europa, Russland oder Asien die kompletten Bestände befischt.
Gleichzeitig wird auch heute noch chemischer und radioaktiver Abfall vor den Küsten Somalias verklappt.
So das heute kein Fischfang mehr möglich ist und die Krebsraten in dem ohnehin Bürgerkrieg geplagten Land explodieren.
So verwundert es nicht, dass die Menschen ihr Heil in der Piraterie und dee Verteidigung ihrer Küsten suchen.
Aber auch die Piraten sind keine Kinder von Traurigkeit.
Farahs Stärke ist, wie immer diese genaue Beschreibung der Zustände in seinem Heimatland.
Seine Schwäche ist leider eine spannende Handlung zu erzeugen oder Charaktere, welche einem im Gedächtnis bleiben.
Farah gilt als einer der wichtigsten Afrikanischen Autoren. Eher wohl durch seine politische Agenda und nicht sein Stil.
Trotzdem ein wichtiges Buch, wobei Farah eher mal ein Sachbuch über das Thema schreiben sollte.
December 14, 2017
Farah is a special writer, the first I’ve encountered who effectively translates between my suburban white American world and the African one. As such, Farah is able to highlight those cultural trappings that don’t mean a thing in Africa, but that American eyes are drawn to, like how bedraggled a man’s beard is or how tightly his clothing fits. The book is also a soothing, exotic read, with vivid language that pours as smoothly as water from a deep, clear well. The plot follows a freelance journalist named Malik, who is Somali by birth but was raised in Malaysia and now lives in America. Malik journeys to his “homeland” of Somalia, seeking stories for articles. Though he is experienced in dangerous locales, he doesn’t know w tf he’s doing when it comes to Somalia, so his father-in-law, Jeeblah, goes with him as shepherd. All sorts of wackiness ensues, but a multicultural version of The Hangover this ain’t. Character interactions reveal culture clashes of all conceivable stripes among the country’s political and tribal factions, and Farah conveys them all through a remarkably clear lens. “After all,” he concludes, “every resident of this city is guilty, even if no one admits to being a culprit.” Images are precise yet leave all to a reader’s imagination. Thus, a balcony isn’t given specific dimensions, but is “large enough for a sumptuous party,” and a jeep becomes a “four wheel drive.” A pleasure.
Find reviews of books for men at Books for Dudes, Books for Dudes, the online reader's advisory column for men from Library Journal. Copyright Library Journal.
Find reviews of books for men at Books for Dudes, Books for Dudes, the online reader's advisory column for men from Library Journal. Copyright Library Journal.
July 8, 2021
I enjoyed elements of this book a lot, but it also didn't grab me the way I thought it might.
The book goes in depth on a range of topics that get a lot of international media attention about Somalia: political instability, Al Shabab, piracy, threats to the free press. You see these issues through the eyes of visiting foreigners (of Somali heritage) who quickly get roped in to the country's struggles. But we also see, through their eyes, parts of life that we (Americans) otherwise don't have access to: delicious feasts set out for guests, the dusty hotels in remote towns, the bustling markets and mosques, the networks and lifestyles of political dissidents and secularists, the angst of family and friends of those with blood on their hands. It is of course this part of the book I found most compelling, and I appreciated Farah's lyrical inclusion of these details.
The book, to me, is a thriller, which is why it fell short for me; I expected it to be more of a drama. That is to say, it is very plot driven, and the stakes are very high, but the character development didn't feel like the focus (which is my preference!).
The book goes in depth on a range of topics that get a lot of international media attention about Somalia: political instability, Al Shabab, piracy, threats to the free press. You see these issues through the eyes of visiting foreigners (of Somali heritage) who quickly get roped in to the country's struggles. But we also see, through their eyes, parts of life that we (Americans) otherwise don't have access to: delicious feasts set out for guests, the dusty hotels in remote towns, the bustling markets and mosques, the networks and lifestyles of political dissidents and secularists, the angst of family and friends of those with blood on their hands. It is of course this part of the book I found most compelling, and I appreciated Farah's lyrical inclusion of these details.
The book, to me, is a thriller, which is why it fell short for me; I expected it to be more of a drama. That is to say, it is very plot driven, and the stakes are very high, but the character development didn't feel like the focus (which is my preference!).
May 27, 2022
Broche final a mi periplo por Somalia y muy buen broche, según han ido "cayendo" los libros de la trilogía ha ido aumentando mi disfrute, tres historias distintas con personajes distintos que al final se cruzan y Somalia y su vida al fondo.
En este último libro tenemos la búsqueda de un muchacho americano que adoctrinado en la Mezquita marcha a Somalia a combatir y la búsqueda de sus parientes hace que vuelvan a Somalia y cuenten la situación que encuentran, con las diferencias que hay de cuando salieron a ahora.
Es una lección de historia, porqué están así, qué los ha llevado a una guerra civil, cómo ha acabado y qué futuro les puede esperar, la persecución a mujeres y a periodistas y la dureza de la vida diaria.
También aparece la piratería y el problema de la pesca ilegal por parte de terceros países en las aguas de Somalia.
Interesantes son las opiniones de algunos personajes, sobre las vestimentas, los imanes, terroristas, piratas, etc, vemos que todo está corrupto pero no hay solución, sólo queda sobrevivir como sea o como le dejen a cada uno.
En este último libro tenemos la búsqueda de un muchacho americano que adoctrinado en la Mezquita marcha a Somalia a combatir y la búsqueda de sus parientes hace que vuelvan a Somalia y cuenten la situación que encuentran, con las diferencias que hay de cuando salieron a ahora.
Es una lección de historia, porqué están así, qué los ha llevado a una guerra civil, cómo ha acabado y qué futuro les puede esperar, la persecución a mujeres y a periodistas y la dureza de la vida diaria.
También aparece la piratería y el problema de la pesca ilegal por parte de terceros países en las aguas de Somalia.
Interesantes son las opiniones de algunos personajes, sobre las vestimentas, los imanes, terroristas, piratas, etc, vemos que todo está corrupto pero no hay solución, sólo queda sobrevivir como sea o como le dejen a cada uno.
December 16, 2025
3,5*
La verdad es que es un libro que no está nada mal. Está bastante bien escrito y además te ayuda a comprender más de cerca cómo se vive realmente en un país como Somalia. Muchas veces solo conocemos las noticias que nos cuentan en occidente, pero el tema es mucho más complejo a nivel interno sobre todo. Aquí podemos conocer la cruda realidad. Así que agradezco mucho ese tema, me encanta conocer otras culturas, saber cómo viven otros seres humanos, etc No le pongo más Estrellas porque el tema socio-geo-politico de me interesa para nada, incluso me aburre. Pero el libro está tan bien escrito que me lo he leído sin atascarme.
La verdad es que es un libro que no está nada mal. Está bastante bien escrito y además te ayuda a comprender más de cerca cómo se vive realmente en un país como Somalia. Muchas veces solo conocemos las noticias que nos cuentan en occidente, pero el tema es mucho más complejo a nivel interno sobre todo. Aquí podemos conocer la cruda realidad. Así que agradezco mucho ese tema, me encanta conocer otras culturas, saber cómo viven otros seres humanos, etc No le pongo más Estrellas porque el tema socio-geo-politico de me interesa para nada, incluso me aburre. Pero el libro está tan bien escrito que me lo he leído sin atascarme.
April 27, 2022
This was a difficult book to "get into" and a difficult book to read. Definitely not a fast read. It is about Somalia, the threat to all journalists in Somalia, and the luring of young men by Imams in the U.S. to go to Somalia as suicide bombers. The style was sometimes tedious, although that might be because of the translation. It was generally frightening to realize what "normal" life in Somalia has been like.
January 19, 2025
I got this book when by chance as it was being given away by my high school's library 5-ish years ago. Five years later, I finally got around to it, and what I have to say is Farah is a literary genius. He treats the stories of Malik, Ahn, and their surrounding family/networks with an astounding and illuminating care that realistically paints how geopolitical tensions trickle down and impact the most intimate of interpersonal relations. I highly recommend.
November 18, 2017
This book was solidly okay - definitely interesting and informative, but the writing was jumpy and there were some inconsistencies that could have been easily fixed with more editing. I loved the character of Qasiir, but a lot of the other characters seemed kind of like pawns.
October 5, 2024
everything from the captivating prose, the clever intertexuality, and the careful illustrations of real life cycles of fear, suffering, ambition and hope makes for a fulfilling and impactful read.
it’s been a pleasure to have now completely read two books from nuruddin farah.
it’s been a pleasure to have now completely read two books from nuruddin farah.
March 6, 2018
Tedious.
June 28, 2019
not very well written and too hard to follow/care about. too many characters introduced too early.
July 21, 2023
I don't know WHAT the other reviews are getting on about with this book. It's extremely harrowing and action driven, and definitely makes me want to read more from this author.
September 30, 2023
I want to read
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 11, 2024
No lo acabé, yo diría que lo dejé más o menos a la mitad. No acabé de entrar en la trama, poca profundidad en los personajes.
Read
December 9, 2024finally. had to read for uni and will be writing my essay on this. also so interesting to read as a somali person, so many diff opinions and ideologies
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