The Magic of Saida

by M.G. Vassanji

The Magic of Saida tells the haunting story of Kamal, a successful Canadian doctor who, in middle age and after decades in North America, decides to return to his homeland of East Africa to find his childhood sweetheart, Saida. Kamal's journey is motivated by a combination of guilt, hope, and the desire to unravel the mysteries of his childhood--mysteries compounded by the fact that Kamal is the son of an absent Indian father from a well-to-do family and a Swahili African mother of slave ancestry. Through a series of flashbacks, we watch Kamal's early years in the ancient coastal town of Kilwa, where he grows up in a world of poverty but also of poetry, sustained by his friendship with the magical Saida.

This world abruptly ends when Kamal is sent away by his mother to live with his father's family in the city. There, the academically gifted boy grows up as a "dark Indian," eventually going to university and departing for Canada. Left behind to her traditional fate is Saida, now a beautiful young woman. Decades later, Kamal's guilt pulls him back to Kilwa . . . where he discovers what happened to Saida during a harrowing night of sinister rites. This complex, revelatory, sweeping and shocking book, is a towering testament to the magical literary powers of M.G. Vassanji.

Genres: Fiction, Africa, Historical Fiction, Tanzania, Canada, India, Literary Fiction

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Moyez G. Vassanji was born in Kenya and raised in Tanzania. Before coming to Canada in 1978, he attended MIT and the University of Pennsylvania, where he specialized in theoretical nuclear physics. From 1978-1980 he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Atomic Energy of Canada, and from 1980 to 1989 he was a research associate at the University of Toronto. During this period he developed a keen interest in medieval Indian literature and history, co-founded and edited a literary magazine (The Toronto South Asian Review, later renamed The Toronto Review of Contemporary Writing Abroad), and began writing stories and a novel. In 1989, with the publication of his first novel, The Gunny Sack, he was invited to spend a season at the International Writing Program of the University of Iowa. That year ended his active career in nuclear physics. His contributions there he considers modest, in algebraic models and high spin states. The fact that he was never tenured he considers a blessing for it freed him to pursue his literary career.

Vassanji is the author of six novels and two collections of short stories. His work has appeared in various countries and several languages. His most recent novel, The Assassin's Song, was short-listed for both the Giller Prize and the Governor-General's Prize for best novel in Canada. It has appeared in the US (Knopf) and India (Penguin) and is scheduled to appear in the UK (Canongate).

His wife, Nurjehan, was born in Tanzania. They have two sons, Anil, and Kabir. He lives in Toronto, and visits Africa and India often.

Awards: Giller Prize, twice; Harbourfront Festival Prize; Commonwealth First Book Prize (Africa); Bressani Prize. Order of Canada.

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good quest, and when it is set against an unfamiliar location - even better! I'm very happy to have stumbled across this gem of a book from Canadian author M.G. Vassanji.

With his children grown into adulthood and his marriage having run its course, Canadian Dr Kamal Punja's interest in his Tanzanian heritage was reignited. It began with books - reading about the history of Kilwa, his childhood home, and the important Swahili poets - but soon transformed into a desire to reunite with his childhood friend, Saida, to whom he had made and broken a promise decades before.

But the story actually begins with Kamal recovering from a severe illness in a Dar es Salaam hospital, with his children at his bedside, having been summoned from Canada. He comes to the attention of a publisher who is visiting the hospital, and who overhears snippets of Kamal's feverish ramblings. Intrigued, the publisher befriends Kamal and undertakes to see him through his recovery. Most of the book is the story relayed by Kamal to the publisher, occasionally returning to the present with questions asked and answered, until towards the end when the two men return to Kilwa together.

Along the way we are introduced to some incredible characters like Mzee Omari Tamim, a revered poet, whose fame may not be entirely deserved; Hamida, Kamal's African mother who fell in love with her Asian employer, Dr Punja, and was abandoned by him when the child was only 4 years old; Punja Devraj, the ancestor who left Gujarat to seek his fortune on Zanzibar and later the Tanzanian coast; Uncle Jaffu, who tries to do the right thing by his nephew but may have an ulterior motive; and of course, Saida, the beautiful young granddaughter of the poet. Kamal himself is, too, a very complex character, growing up with the stigma of his mixed race and his abandonment, and always struggling with the confusion of his identity.

Throw in the poetry, the history, the politics of the time, some magic, and not to mention the mystery of what became of Saida, and it all adds up to a very satisfying read.

[Zen · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's really no way to read a Vassanji book quickly. His stories are so rich with historical and cultural details that if you don't take stock of the timelines and explorations of cause-and-effect throughout, you miss out on a lot. I admittedly had a difficult time with the first book of his I read, but something compelled me to try another, and now I relish the feeling of being drawn into one of his generational epics. The Magic of Saida was no exception.

Kamal Punja has been called chotara, golo, halfbreed and more: his mother is Tanzanian, his estranged father an Indian. Now a successful doctor with a family in Canada, Kamal returns to Tanzania in search of a woman named Saida, to whom he made a promise long ago. From a hospital bed, he recounts the story of his life and his ancestry to the narrator, a publisher who has taken an interest in Kamal's situation: from his mother in Kilwa to his paternal relatives in Dar es Salam; his university life in Uganda to his immigration to Canada; his Gujarati ancestor's arrival in Africa to the death of Saida's grandfather — a lauded Swahili poet who sang the praises of German colonizers while secretly plagiarizing his brother's work. As Kamal gets closer to uncovering Saida's whereabouts, he realizes that his childhood friend may be more than she seems. Saida's magic is the magic of Tanzania itself: a potent substance that makes one believe its blessed water can dissolve bullets.

A common element of Vassanji's books is the feeling of being split between different cultures — something a child of immigrants can certainly appreciate in any form. He always seems to come at this theme in a fresh way with each book. In Saida, it's especially interesting, with Kamal experiencing both inclusion and estrangement from either side of his family. Another common theme I keep finding among his books is the idea that you can't escape your past, as hard as you try to carve a new life for yourself. As Kamal returns to his old home and recollects his past, he seems curiously destined to make history repeat itself.

Part of the reason why I loved this book is that I got to share it with my mom! As a Tanzanian-born Indian who went to school in the Middle East, she speaks all of the languages Vassanji employs: Swahili, Kutchi/Gujarati, and Arabic respectively. Although most of the non-English words' meanings were defined or evident in their contexts, I had fun using her as a human dictionary nonetheless. ("Mom, what's wazungu?" "White people." "Heh.") She was also delighted by the descriptions of Dar es Salam, which she recalled visiting in her childhood. ("I remember that clocktower! Khobar, just wait, let me 'Google it up' for you.") I think I'll have to pick up Uhuru Street next so I can hear more about Dar. The detail with which Vassanji depicts the locations in his novels is always such a treat for me, because I want nothing more to visit places such as the East African coast and the Indian state of Gujarat myself! Until I can do that, reading the works of an author with a similar family history to mine is a really enjoyable alternative. And if I'm a little bit biased in favour of Vassanji because of the cultural connection, so be it. I'm sure his novels would be just as impressive either way, but the familiar references are definitely a draw for me.

One thing that hindered my enjoyment was that some parts of the story didn't have quite enough closure to be completely satisfying. There are some things we never find out by the end of the book, and some parts of Kamal's search that simply lead to dead ends, such as his search for his father. I was so excited when Kamal went to Gujarat to investigate his father's whereabouts, only for that thread of his story to reach an anticlimactic end. The conclusion of the book was also a cliffhanger, but it was a good one: the note it ended on was sort of an 'Aha!' moment for Kamal as a number of things hinted at throughout the story suddenly clicked into place. I just wish we got to see more of Saida towards the end, or got a clearer explanation of her situation!

Nonetheless, I had a good time reading The Magic of Saida, albeit very slowly compared to my usual book-devouring pace! History has never been my favourite subject, but Vassanji is a good teacher who puts everything into a relatable context. I'm not saying I'd ace a quiz on Tanzania's political history because of Saida, but I definitely learned a lot from reading it. I want to visit East Africa more than ever now! Maybe I'll give Saida another read once I do.

[Magdelanye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do we owe anything to the past?A silly question-the past is over- or a profound one-we are part of a continuum. p31

Kamal has become a successful physician in Edmonton, in Canada, when he is drawn back to his native village by nothing more than an escalating nostalgia and a gathering desire to find his first love, Saida, abandoned when he left to peruse his medical studies and find a life elsewhere. The doctor is already experiencing displacement.

His story is recounted by a chance acquaintance, a discreet narrator whose connection to the events becomes less random as the novel progresses.

Seeing as there is nothing particularly likeable or altruistic about the doctor, it is a measure of MGV's profound skill that I was swept up in his story and gained even more respect for the refugees who must compartmentalize the lives that must fit in to their new situation.

If only it could talk.... That tree bears witness to our history. p167

[Andree · Rating 2 out of 5]

Objectively I understand the value of this book. Objectively it's interesting. It's very obviously about place and race and ancestry and where a person is from/where their home is. It made me think about several things I haven't before. For example, the people who were half-Asian, half-African, living in Africa over the 20th centruy. It's also a book about family and and belief systems and values survival and betrayal.

Honestly, I think it's just a book about too many things. It's an interesting book. It's just not one I enjoyed in any kind of a way. I got about 85 pages through it and realized I didn't care if the main character ever found Saida. I didn't care what the story was with her grandfather. I didn't care what had gone wrong. It was an interesting story in the end, but I just didn't care to read it the way it was told.

The book is dense. I can understand why people would like it, but I just kept getting distracted or bogged down. I felt like there were too many story lines jumping in and out, and if the book had stuck with a couple (or even half) of them, it would have been better. Between the great poet, the grandfather who stole his brother's poems and betrayed him to the occupying Germans, the boy teaching his childhood friend english, all the beliefs in magic, his weird co-dependent relationship with his mother, his mother abandoning him, his Asian father abandoning him and his mother, the near-constant bullying, the idea that his Canadian children don't want to be forced to accept their African heritage because to them the Asian is more acceptable, his random attempts and treating people in Africa in the present day, his relationship with the modern doctor, the writer he keeps talking to who's telling his story, the fact that he ends up getting Saida pregnant, the consequences that has for her at the hands of her 'medicine man' (forget the word they use, but that's essentially what it is) husband, the main character's mostly loveless marriage, his years living with his uncle, his weird kinship with the man who owns the hotel he stays at when he goes back to Africa, his attempts to find where he belongs in the world with his mixed heritage and constant moving, the fact that he ends up essentially abandoning Saida and his child (though unknowingly) in the same way his father abandonned him and his mother, the description of not only his father's life, but his grandfather's and the politics that brought him to Africa in the first place,, the description of the man who wants to write his story and his role in things, Saida's grandfather and why he feels he's haunted by a djinn and the real story behind his suicide, why the boy feels he faled the grandfather, how he feels about his Asian uncle's inconsistent racism against the Africans, the first fever dream/drugging the novel opens with, the second fever dream/drugging it closes with that is really, really odd. And I am probably missing plotlines. When I say the thing is dense, I mean it's dense. And there is more plotlines beside that.

I don't know. I just felt like there was too much going on and something got lost along the way.

And quite frankly, the ending really was nothing but weird.

Interesting, but I didn't like it.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Madeleine Thien’s masterful novel, Do Not Say We Have Nothing, she takes us inside two talented families of musicians in China and the lives of two entwined generations - those who weathered Mao’s Cultural Revolution; and their children, who became the 1989 Tiananmen Square protesters during one of the most important political moments of the past century. In her strong, subtle, witty and morally complex style, Thien has crafted characters that leap of the page, by turns flinty and headstrong, dreamy and tender, foolish and wise.
The story opens in Vancouver in 1990, as ten-year-old Marie and her mother invite a guest into their home: Ai-ming, a young woman who has fled China in the aftermath of the Tiananmen massacre. Gradually, as Ai-ming befriends Marie, she relates the history of her family, from the crowded teahouses during Mao’s ascent to the creative ferment inside the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in the 1960s to the streets of Beijing during the 1989 demonstrations. With gorgeous and powerful prose, Thien immerses us in the whirling lives of three musicians who traverse these times - the shy and brilliant composer Sparrow, the violin prodigy Zhuli, and the ambitious pianist Kai. The three struggle to remain loyal to one another and to the music that defines them, but eventually and inevitably, the relentless tide of the Cultural Revolution forces them to re-imagine their bonds and their fates, with unexpected and lasting consequences.
Do Not Say We Have Nothing is a gripping evocation of the power and trauma of political revolution, and a magnificent tale of two vibrant families caught in the maelstrom. It haunts us with a question both universal and personal: how may we speak truly, love one another, pass along our stories, make art, when the self must be disguised or hidden?

[Steven Langdon · Rating 4 out of 5]

M.G. Vassanji is, in my view, one of Canada's most powerful and evocative authors. Two of his novels have won Giller Prizes, given annually to the country's best English fiction work. "The In-Between World of Vikram Lall" is especially compelling in capturing the detailed texture of post-1945 Kenya, the relationships amongst different races and the complexity of Africa-Canada migration -- while "The Assassin's Song" is equally dramatic in conveying the lives of Indians caught between the historic conflicts of their homeland and the immigrant uncertainties of North America.

"The Magic of Saida" puts its focus on another diaspora story, this time involving a middle-aged doctor from Tanzania who is drawn back from his immigrant life in Edmonton to his coming-of-age memories of an other-worldly African girl in Kilwa on the Swahili coast south of Dar Es Salaam. Kamal Punja, the doctor, is the son of an African woman deserted by her Indian husband, a "chotaro" or "half-caste" he says, who learns to out-compete the young Indian boys at school despite their richer background. Saida Kulthum is a famous Swahili poet's grand-daughter -- a beautiful girl with certain somewhat mystical powers who teaches Kamal Arabic while he instructs her in arithmetic and English. Their growing up together is interrupted by Kamal being sent to Dar to live with an Indian family and accelerate his education -- but that is not the end of their ties.

Vassanji's earlier books were marked by driving force and striking characterization. "The Magic of Saida" is a much less compelling novel. There is a great deal of material presented on the resistance of local people to European colonization -- various rebellions by different regions and the remarkable Maji-Maji war that convulsed much of southern Tanzania against the Germans. The intermingling of Africans and Indians in carrying forward this resistance is also highlighted. So are the tensions amongst races that develop during the twentieth century. This is all fascinating -- but it makes for a reflective read in which both the plot and the main characters in this book are subsumed for many pages.

There is also a less sensitive rendering of the dynamics of Tanzanian post-independence development than, for instance, the rich portrait of Kenya presented in "Vikram Lall." There is a lot of focus, for instance, on Chinese involvement in the country that does not reflect the internal complexity amongst groups of Africans that I certainly saw in Tanzania throughout this period.

Nevertheless, this book is still, at its heart, a subtle and strong exploration of guilt and the potential for redemption in a human life. There are various characters in this novel who come to confront such guilt and who handle it in different ways. The force of this theme is what makes this book very much worth reading.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a 3.5 read for me.

• The Magic of Saida is the story of Kamal Punja, a successful doctor from Edmonton, Canada, returning to his birthplace a small coastal town called Kilwa, part of what is now known as Tanzania to search for his childhood sweetheart, Saida.
• What started out as story with a theme of looking for a lost love morphs into a fully complex storyline that examines identity, abandonment, love, hope, and dislocation wrapped up with magic realism elements and infused with history of the past and present.
• Once again I was drawn into the skillful storytelling of the author as he looks at East Africa through a lens that explores history, politics, religion, ethnicity and societies yet making it personal and intimate.
• As the storyline fluidity moves between the past and the present in Kamal’s life and the past and present of the history of the region, it is Kamal’s background of having an African mother and Indian father that allows for the exploration of the cultures from an inside view. The reader gets to see sectarian conflicts get ignited by forces that have little to do with many who bear the burden of these conflicts and have even less power to resist.
• As Kamal is given “opportunities” that he is “pushed” to accept, often the price he pays is abandonment by those he loves.
• At times some of the historical parts dragged the story down but they are really so necessary to this story and to our understanding of migration and relocation of this area.
• I learned much about the German colonization of East Africa, the role of WWI on East Africa, and the changeover from the German rule to the British rule
• While all of my questions did not get answered by the end of the book relating to some of the outstanding questions/concerns that Kamal has questioned throughout his life – I did see how the past (even the past we are not aware of) so influences the present. As I look around the world and wonder about conflicts that seem to just sprung up I am learning that that the past is the present.
• This is my second book by the author and once again my knowledge has been enriched in an enjoyable reading experience.
• I highly recommend this book for readers of historical fiction.
• One of my favorite quotes from this book is – “Still, he was different. His features announced it plainly, spoke of provenance, posed questions. There were reminders, the small and large ones, accidental or aimed to wound. He had his memories, his private world to turn to at night. No one could interfere with his memories, they were his solace, his hope for some future resolution in his life. They chained him to his past.”
• Second favorite quote – “But, beware of the mouse who caresses you as he knaws.”

[Katie Mercer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book as an ARC, sent to me by the publisher as a Goodreads First Reads.

This will be a bit of an odd review (but really, most of mine have been recently). I think what's holding me back is I always want to write a review that lets people know what I felt about the book, and if I think they would enjoy it. I keep coming up empty, because all I can think is that this book was just lovely. In the best possible way, I don't quite know what to make of this book. The book is a soft tale of 20th Century Colonialism, something that's rare in almost all other books related to that topic. It felt real - lives lived and impacted but it wasn't the focus of the book - it was there, it was history and it was life, but it wasn't what the book was about.

The details of what the book is about you can see in other places, but to me the book was about regret, longing and memory. It struck a chord because a recurring feeling the protagonist had was that he didn't know where he belonged, and he never truly felt a part of something. It's about finding your identity through finding the past

The book was brilliantly written but Vassanji is a brilliant writer, one I have loved for a while. His brilliance lies in the subtleties of what he writes, the characters that he builds and where he takes the story - and above all I've always thought Vassanji is a storyteller. In all honesty I enjoyed this book more than I've enjoyed a book in a while. I broke my trashy Urban Fantasy kick to read this, and I'm incredibly glad I did. Absolutely go grab a copy, you won't regret it. It will leave you thinking and dreaming, and a feeling nostalgic for things you may have never known.

http://vivalakt.blogspot.ca/

[Ming · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can an immigrant return "home?" Can you find a past or lost love? Duel questions that are difficult to answer but occur often in the books I choose. The first question provides a tension and a clearer/skewed eye to engage a reader. Here Vassanji adds an additional layer: a biracial Asian Indian-African immigrant to Canada returns to his native Tanzania.

And the book reveals his story...one that portrays and critiques the colonial and post-colonial climates along with depicting cultural adaptations of Africans and Asian Indian immigrants to one another. Layers upon rich layers occur as well as reflect the world where crossroads and junctures take place.

This book has a steady and calm tone and several passages of beautiful writing.

I gasped at several turns in the story as arcs and histories were revealed.

[Ksab · Rating 5 out of 5]

A magical novel of a quest for homecoming to East Africa. Vassanji seamlessly weaves themes of family,immigration,religion, politics, history,slavery,colonization,love,spirituality,and identity over the life cycle. Vassanji is a master, mystical storyteller whose prose seems to be talking directly to you-the reader. A must read!!

[Isaac Saba · Rating 5 out of 5]

The anachronistic story telling worked well for me, and I love a good historical tangent.

[Farhana Faruq · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a mixed review on this book. There's so much I love about this story. That it takes place in Tanzania. That it's about a boy (Kamal) who's of mixed race (African mother and Asian father), who was born in Tanzania but now resides in Canada - which I can relate to. I also think Vassanji is a phenomenal writer, he's descriptions will make you feel like you're right there in Kilwa.

I had a problem with how long the story was, it just seems to go on forever (or it could just have seemed that long after reading so many YA novels). The timelines were also confusing at times, almost annoying. Kamal initially starts of telling his story to an editor in Tanzania, about how he's looking for a girl from his childhood - so some of the time it's the editor commenting and most of the time is Kamal telling his story all in present tense.

This is a historical fiction. It has a lot going on throughout the story, religion, politics, slavery, and racial identity to name a few.

[Alexandra Noga · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 2.5*. Good writing. Lots of history, and some repetitive and hard to follow…usually I like this but because it seemed like it was rebellion after rebellion, it was hard to remember who was who and what was what. Also LOTS of Swahili/?Gujurati words or locations that I had to google all the time. The ‘quest’ is reason for the book/journey and yet it ties up in about 3 pages….felt unfinished and unclear. Really just ok except for the fact that he writes well.

[Gabby · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author's writing style is slow and sometimes the syntax is odd which makes reading this book, at times, feel awkward.

Also, some editing wouldn't have been amiss. While I appreciate the attempt to infuse a lot of history, the story gets bogged down by too many of those details. There's even one section set in the past of one of the characters that really had no bearing on the story.

There were a few things that went unresolved, but mainly, the story ended too quickly and abruptly. The quest, if you will, of the main character, ends with barely a blip. And a confusing one at that.

I did find myself skimming a lot. Just wasn't that interesting to me.

[Corry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feelings about this book. It was hard to get into the story, maybe also because it took me 3 weeks to read it, but also because of the many Swahili language sentences in it. The translation came as well but I find it hard to read a language that I don't understand. It is a interesting story though about life in East Africa and the way people lived there and interacted with each other: the muslim population and the Africans, the Indian people.
The end is definitly not a storybook ending...

[Spoiledyorkie · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first, as the story weaves in and out through the lives and history of the characters and town involved, I feel it took me a while to make my way through. However, as I came the end, I just couldn't close the book to put it down and I found myself immediately returning to the beginning of the book to re-read those early parts, to recapture the significance and the feeling of what I had just enjoyed.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read; I enjoyed the history, culture and story. I found that many of the terms and words that seemed foreign to me were not in the dictionary. I did find some with a google search but I didn't stop to do that often as I was reading the paper edition. Footnotes would have been very helpful.

[Lita · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED THIS BOOK. SO INTRIGUING, SO WELL WRITTEN. THIS IS ABOUT TANZANIA A PART OF THE WORLD I WAS NOT FAMILIAR WITH. A GREAT READ!

[Lianne]

I enjoy the work of immigrant writers who often present cross-cultural points of view. I have followed several South-Indian-Canadian writers. This is my first novel by M.G. Vassanji, who is a two-time winner of the Giller prize, Canada's version of the Pulitzer. Kamal Punja, the main character, is an African/Indian/ Canadian physician who immigrated to Canada after the military coup in Uganda by General Idi Amin.He grew up as a "half caste" with an African mother abandoned by his Indian-born father in a coastal town in current Tanzania. I found the author's depiction of East Africa in post colonial times especially interesting. I was aware of the Indian diaspora from Uganda. but had not realized that the Germans colonized Tanzania prior to World War II. The novel begins with Doctor Kamal suffering from either malaria or poisoning from a hallucinogenic brew in Kilwa, the town where he lived as a child. He has returned to Tanzania to track down a childhood sweetheart. The plot revolves around his attempts to find out what happened to her when he was sent away by his mother to be educated by his father's family in Dar Es Salam. Vassanji explores issues of racial, cultural and religious identity against the backdrop of emerging nationalism. Doctor Kamal tries to retrieve his own roots but can't quite bridge the gap between his heartfelt memories and the external realities of the lives of those he left behind. He also can't reconcile his rational worldview with the vestiges of magical beliefs that still have power. I found the plot intriguing and engaging and will try to find other works by the author.

[Jawahar Surti · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I said before, this was a kind of journey down memory lane. In terms of places, their history, their people, their food! The author is a very good story-teller for sure. He has nicely woven the local history into his tale! I read somewhere that one should not visit the place where one grew up as a child for it might shatter the image one has so preciously stored in one's memory! And that was perhaps the reason I avoided revisiting my birth-place when I was offered a chance. For, as a child you see things around you and they impress you, your exposure to the world being so limited, and you start building up a treasure of pleasant times. As an adult, after many years, things change, People change, food tastes different - not as delicious as you found as a child, perhaps. Exposure to other places introduces, unconsciously, that element of comparison. And that's when the world of your pleasant memories of childhood may crash. But reading this book put me in the place as if I was a witness to the events that happened in the life of Dr Kamal Punja. His journey to his homeland for the search of his first love was so touching.
The book has many Swahili phrases and words that came back to me. Those not familiar with the language may struggle with their actual pronunciation. And the subtleties.
Oh, I loved reading this book. May read the author's other books.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story of cross-cultural forbidden love moving between Tanzania, Uganda, India and Canada. The writing was good and the politics and political message important. There were some parts where I did not really care what was happening with the characters, and I never found the book unputdownable. Nor was it my favourite by Vassanji, not by a long shot. But the history and politics behind the story held my interest most of the time. Works for historathon 2020-- dual timelines, a book set (primarily) outside of North America or Europe, and for many would be an unfamiliar topic, although I personally have studied African history and the Uganda/Kenya./Tanzania situation with Indian Africans quite a bit. This book would definitely be worthwhile for fans and connoisseurs of Vassanji's work, but I wouldn't recommend it as an introduction to him. He has written some books that in addition to being fascinating politically and culturally, also have compelling plots. For me, this was not one of them. As I have now read several other books by Vassanji, I remain interested in reading more, but this did not compare well to his other books, in my opinion.

[Nancy Gillies · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a generous three-star rating. While M. G. Vassanji does an excellent job of creating an almost palpable atmosphere at the beginning of The Magic of Saida, with his description of the protagonist’s childhood town of Kilwa in Tanzania, and the final few chapters build to a strong conclusion, the majority of this novel jumped back and forth between different storylines in a clunky way. I felt that the use of two first-person narrators as well as a third-person omniscient narrator was not a good choice, as it added confusion and took away from a clear focus on the protagonist’s story. While it was interesting to learn about some of the history of Tanzania, including the years of subjugation at the hands of German invaders in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, this part of the story was too vaguely connected to what turns out to be the central focus of the novel, the relationship between the main character, Kamal Punja, and his childhood sweetheart, Saida. Themes related to racial inequality, betrayal, and loss recur in the novel, but they are too muddled together. The love story gets lost in the shuffle, which is a big disappointment.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much of what's already been posted about this book applies to my reading of it too. Though not an overly long book, it is dense; dense with preoccupations about race, ancestry, secrets, family history. Like one of the reviewers below, I found that I didn't really care whether Kamal found Saida since the book is not a romance. But Saida does represent an overly romanticized past, Kamal's wishful thinking of whisking Saida away to a more prosperous life. I liked that he persisted in his search for family history while travelling in India. I think that speaks to most readers, especially now with a simple spit test and a data sheet from Ancestry, we can find out more than we want/should know about ourselves without getting out of our armchairs. Kamal, at least, does the research himself despite the protests of his Canadian family.

[Ali]

While I was part-way through the book, I wondered to myself how I might later describe it here. I thought: "the magic of the narrative is that it spans multiple continents, histories, traditions, and generations. It falters briefly at times because of the scope of it, but then it picks itself up and surprises you."

By the end of the book, however, after the very last page, I was left speechless. Not knowing how to reconcile with the earlier part, I found the image at the end troubling. I could not sleep that night.

Was it worth it? Do I recommend reading this? I don't know. Yes. And no. And yes.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmmm.... one of my favourite genres is historical fiction and this is certainly that! There is so much going on in this book, that I lost my desire to follow the story. I understand it is rich in culture and history, maybe just not for me.

The premise of the novel is a good one: Kamal is the son of an Indian man and a Swahili woman. Kamal returns to his homeland in East Africa after a successful career in Canada, to look for his childhood sweetheart and to perhaps understand some things from his childhood that have plagued his memory.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no idea I'd be getting a bit of history of Tanzania - a bonus to what is otherwise a fine tale of opportunity and regret individuals face when they leave their homeland and cultural security behind for a new life elsewhere.

I'm a bit of a sucker when it comes to reflections that cover one's childhood (with mysteries and enthusiasm for all that life could be) all the way through to that individual as elderly (with regrets, humbleness at what life has brought, and the ability to reflect on the trajectory of the human experience).

[Norman Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this but never felt really engaged in the story. Vassanji writes very well, and his characters are interesting. The setting is quite novel to me; I had very little knowledge of this part of Africa and the complex situation there. I wanted to like this book more.

Nonetheless, the central element of the book, the search for Saida, never hooked me, and the resolution felt like the author had decided that the book had to end somewhere. I think that the ending was almost unnecessary or, alternatively, needed to be more cathartic. Instead, it left me without a sense of closure.

[Donna Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are elements of this book I enjoyed. I wanted to know what happened to Saida as the characters developed. There was much historical information which was not of interest to me. I find it ironic Kamul’s actual choice of a wife, is nothing like his childhood friend. Was magic involved at all with his interrogations? Truth serums or witch craft? Interesting, but not my desired reading genre.

[Mallee Stanley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kamal leaves his wife in Canada to search for his childhood sweetheart in Kilwa, Tanzania. I found the first one hundred pages tedious and often repetitive. If you can persist past this point, the story becomes interesting.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel did not really come up to my expectations- although written well -the premise that started with promise became tedious and boring- the final climax too late and although atmospheric-not too enthralling - left me disappointed and wondering why I stuck with it- 2.5 stars.