Ombra Bianca

by Cristiano Gentili

C’è un’isola, nel cuore dell’Africa, dove non arrivano gli echi chiassosi del turismo, dove non ci sono resort né safari per viaggiatori in cerca di avventura, dove un giorno una giovane donna posa sulle ginocchia di un uomo europeo una neonata dai lineamenti africani ma dalla pelle bianca come il latte. Lui è un ricco proprietario di una miniera d’oro, discendente di coloni inglesi. Lei è una bambina africana albina, un’anomalia per i suoi conterranei. Entrambi lottano per sopravvivere in un ambiente ostile fino a quando, per un capriccio del destino, le loro vite s’intrecceranno in una spirale di dipendenza reciproca dove la posta in gioco è la vita stessa. È l’inizio di un’avventura in cui saranno messi a confronto amore e odio, emarginazione e riscatto, magia nera e fede. Un viaggio nell’Africa misteriosa e nei meandri delle più intime emozioni umane, sullo sfondo di una cultura strangolata da un capitalismo senza morale che affonda le sue radici nel colonialismo moderno.

Genres: Africa, Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published July 4, 2013

About the author

🔥 Bestselling Literary Fiction That Might Make You Cry… or Start a Revolution

Cristiano Gentili writes stories that grab you by the heartstrings, shake you up, and refuse to let go. His novels are emotionally charged, deeply human, and just the right amount of unforgettable—like that one ex you can’t stop thinking about. (Except his books won’t ghost you.)

📖 If you love gripping, thought-provoking fiction that makes you laugh, cry, and question the meaning of life all before lunch, you’ve found your new favorite author.

His latest novel, Then She Was Born, is a must-read for fans of life-changing fiction. It’s beautiful, heart-wrenching, and inspiring, tackling big themes like prejudice, resilience, and hope—without putting you to sleep. Prepare to be hooked if you enjoy authors like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Kristin Hannah, and Isabel Allende.

🚨 Warning: May cause excessive emotional investment, late-night binge reading, and spontaneous book discussions. Side effects include feeling inspired and wanting to change the world.

Cristiano’s background in human rights and global affairs means his books don’t just entertain—they educate, inspire, and occasionally make you want to storm a government building (peacefully, of course).

📚 Hit the ‘Follow’ button so you never miss a new release or a Kindle deal—because great books (and world-changing ideas) should never be missed.

Reviews

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Italian author does a convincing job of portraying the events in his fictional character's life, telling us that everything he relates has happened to some African person with albinism. Adimu is born to a poor village in Tanzania, but her pale skin and hair cause her parents to reject her. When Adimu's mother is dismissed by her husband, only the infant's grandmother is brave enough to protect the baby from those in the village who would kill her.

Primitive customs hold that a body part of an albino person (or a dwarf, not mentioned) can be used in making charms, for instance to catch more fish or attract good luck to an enterprise. This means that throughout the decade or so of the tale, young Adimu, lacking even playmates, has to beware would-be bodysnatchers.

A white couple who own a gold mine near the village enter the tale. The wife, English-born Sarah, meets Adima at a year old and is continually concerned for her, while locally-raised Charles is more pragmatic and doesn't want to interfere with the locals. After all, if most albino people die by the age of thirty from skin cancer, what can anyone do to change anything?

Nice touches include the medical aid workers who try to help, and the news of an albino person elected to parliament. I've seen an albino African fashion model, campaigning for better understanding. I was early reminded of English superstitions of a changeling baby, which must have covered a spread of 'imperfect' infants. Also of the teacher who recently explained to village children that a bird they found with a metal ring around its leg was not owned by a witch, but tracked by a scientist.

This short book is not an easy read because it is frequently distressing. For all that, I recommend it to open a window to another world, one where greed and superstition make fools of men and impoverish women.
I was sent an e-ARC by the author. This is an unbiased review.

[Jennifer (JC-S) · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘The birth of a white shadow is a bad sign.’

In a small community in Africa, a girl is born. She is the first child of Juma and Sefu, but they are horrified by her appearance. She is different, an albino, in a superstitious community where such children would traditionally be abandoned. Sefu’s mother, Nkamba, is given permission to care for the little girl, whom she names Adimu.

Adimu is shunned by most within the village: she is viewed as a ‘thing’ rather than as a person. Her body parts are considered valuable, and Adimu is at risk from are bounty hunters. Adimu’s path crosses that of a wealthy white couple: Charles and Sarah Fielding. Adimu wonders if Charles Fielding could be her father, given that that he is the same colour as she is. In the meantime, there are other stories unfolding. Sarah Fielding befriends Adimu, while others seek to take advantage of her. And when Charles Fielding, in desperation, joins forces with the local witch doctor, Zuberi, the threat to Adimu increases. Dead or alive, she is a valuable commodity. Who can Adimu trust? Can she survive?

‘The stories our people tell about zeru zerus are myths. You have a different skin color, that’s all.’

There are a number of layers of complexity to this novel. The power of both superstition and greed are constant themes, as is ignorance. I kept reading, wanting a fairytale ending for Adimu’s story, hoping that her life would improve. I kept reading, reminded that greed and superstition are not confined to Africa, that difference is all too frequently feared.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

#HelpAfrican Albinos

[David Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's hard to even know where to start when describing Then She Was Born by Cristiano Gentli. The description doesn't do it justice. This is a complex novel that has several sub plots and themes, but at the heart of the story is a young girl trying to find where she fits within society. The story begins with an albino baby born in a small community in Africa. The parents disown her and the village wishes to kill her because she will bring bad fortune. The baby's grandmother Nkamba saves the infant and talks the village into saving her by giving the lake gods a chance to destroy it, if the baby is truly evil. The baby survives and is named Adimu.

Adimu leads a hard existence, she is shunned by the children in her village and makes friends with the farm animals that she has to take care of. Being an albino in Africa, Adimu is not seen as a person, but as a thing. To Africans her body parts are considered valuable and they will pay to have parts of her. Adimu gives pieces of her hair to other kids so she has someone to play with, until her grandmother puts a stop to it. One day Adimu is very excited because some kids want her to go on a boat ride, but later she finds out from her grandmother that those kids are not her friends, Legend has it that if an albino is on a ship that sinks, the albino will float and the others can use her as a flotation device to get to safety.

Things are bad for Adimu but sometimes good things can come from bad. She has learned to become self-reliant and though she is lonely she carries on. Adimu has the love of her Grandma, and an English woman named Sarah who can't have kids befriends her. Adimu is never safe though as bounty hunters are hunting her for her body parts including Sarah's husband Charles. Everyone here has an agenda and only a few have Adimu's best interests at heart.

Proving how complex this novel is, their are several other stories that are also told. You have a man driven by greed who is willing to do anything to expand his empire. There is a wife who is heartbroken that she cannot have a baby. Another woman looses everything including her identity to follow her husband to Africa. It has a witch doctor willing to do anything to keep his power in the village and a priest who wants to get more people to follow his congregation. We also have a young African man who believes he has Aids and is expected to follow in his father's footsteps as a village leader, despite wanting to be a doctor. This book is a fictionalized version of what Africa is like.

This is not normally the kind of book I like to read but I was asked several times to give it a look and decided to give it a chance. Then She Was Born is a perfectly written human drama that highlights the human experience in Africa. Africa comes to life in vivid detail in the description of its people, there superstitions, how their communities are ran along with the beauty and poverty of the country. You also see the characters in the story change their attitudes towards Adimu. Some can't leave their superstitions behind, while others find that the way they see this African Albinos is wrong. Then She Was Born is a great piece of literature that I hope raises some awareness for Helping African Albinos.

[Mary Maddox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cristiano Gentili wrote his novel Then She Was Born to dramatize the plight of albinos in traditional African societies. Often albinos are killed as babies. If they live, they're ostracized and sometimes hunted and killed. Although the novel is too didactic for my taste, it's competently written and entertaining. Gentili's prose is graceful, precise, and occasionally poetic. His lush descriptions bring the characters and settings to live.

The protagonist, a girl named Adimu, is unforgettable in her yearning to be loved and accepted, to be seen. As an albino she is a nonperson in her tribe. Rejected by her parents, she would have been left in the forest to die if her grandmother hadn't taken her in. Her determination gives the story its strong emotional center.

Other characters are clearly defined and seem rather simple in their motivations--at first. Adimu's grandmother is haunted by guilt for letting her own albino child be killed. Her mother, Juma, yearns for her husband to take her back. (He discards Juma for giving birth to an albino.) The witch doctor craves prestige. The servant of wealthy mine owner Charles Fielding wants to please his master. Charles' wife yearns for a child. Charles himself desperately wants to increase his wealth and clings to an irrational belief in luck.

Some of the characters grow and change, but not always coherently. The most obvious example is Charles, whose character arc comes off as mechanical, designed to advance the plot and/or illustrate the theme. His contradictory epiphanies seem to pop out of nowhere just in time to move the plot in a certain direction.

Some bits of the story are heavyhanded in driving home the theme. Take the bus driver who transports Adimu and her albino friend. he recklessly passes another vehicle in a dangerous spot and almost collides a head-on with a truck. Since albinos are considered lucky, he's not surprised that he survived; the zeru zeru girls have brought him luck. Some days later, two albino boys board the bus. "Certain of his good luck," the driver once again tries an ill-advised pass, but this time--BAM!--he's dead, along with many of his innocent passengers.

Then She Was Born presents Western science as the cure for backward native superstitions. No doubt it is. But European colonization of Africa has been far from benign. (Read Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart.) To be fair, the novel alludes to the destructive side of the European presence in Africa. One of the zeru zeru hunters recalls the vicious white mercenaries who trained him to kill. Individual white characters do some very bad things. But the overall message is that tribal culture needs to change. The novel doesn't address the question of whether or how the positive aspects of the culture might survive.

Putting aside the criticisms, I respect Gentili's campaign and admire most aspects of the novel. Then She Was Born is worth your time and its cause certainly deserves our support.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting. Sad. (the book)

Tragic. Avoidable. (the issue)

Wow... I don't know how I can read so much and still be so unaware of things like this happening to people as I go about my daily life. It certainly minimizes any "tragic situations" I've been grumbling about in my life this year.

Having that new outlook seems like the best way to end 2025, and start 2026.

[Cindy Marsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christiano Gentili seems to have philanthropy in his blood, judging from his past and present activities with different human rights organizations, and that “love of man” shines through in his tender portrayal of a young girl bewildered by her own birth. From the moment her parents laid eyes on their daughter they rejected her—for this baby was born white—albino—to an African tribal family. Their cultural history could not admit of the concept that this was a human baby. No, she was a "zeru zeru," a phantom, a curse, something other than human.

But the newborn’s grandmother, Nkamba, had a secret, and a heart made tender by that secret, so she took the child to raise in her own poverty, naming her “Adimu,” or “rare one,” but not coddling her as she grew. Instead Nkamba held aloof, seeking to teach Adimu the independence she would require to survive in their world or escape to the outside world.

Gentili’s novel brings the tribal world where Adimu does have one kind of value—her body parts are good for fortune-telling or to work powerful magic—into a clash with the “civilized” Western world in the form of Charles Fielding, a white man and gold mine owner who has his own superstitions and disregard of Adimu’s life. If the secluded villagers are backwards and cruel because of it, Fielding is advanced but no less cruel if it suits his purpose.

This novel is art with a purpose—to bring to the world’s attention the injustice suffered by African albinos. Eminent humanitarians of disparate faiths have joined to approve of Gentili’s campaign for awareness and an end to the sufferings of albinos in Africa, and this book serves well to explain why this prejudice exists and what can be done to overcome it. Because it is a book with an agenda, it suffers some from the heavy-handedness we might expect. For example, a side issue arises in a subplot with healthcare topics like vaccination and HIV screening and treatment, and the plight of a child soldier is touched on but without fully satisfying explication. The character development is sometimes clunky, but just when we think characters are just going to settle into type, Gentili surprises us with a different sort of development. This development is not always successful, but Gentili’s “love of man” manifests itself in this tender, hopeful, sometimes terrifying work. May it have the issue he intends and bring justice and a better life to many.

Note: I have been reimbursed by the author for my expenses in acquiring a copy of this book to review for Awesome Indies Assessors, but my review is in no way influenced by this minimal remuneration, and I have had no personal contact with the author. The review is my true opinion of the work.

[Tripfiction · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plight of the zeru zeru - novel set in TANZANIA



A zeru zeru (phantom, meaning albino) baby is born to Juma. Tanzania has the highest birth rate of babies with albinism according to the novel, and such white skin in the local populace is associated with bad spirits. Albino babies are often left to die or put out to be trampled upon by a herd of cows. At other times the hair from the head of an albino is revered and if wound into fishermen’s nets will enhance a catch. Dead or alive, the body of an albino is valuable – superstition and misgiving are rife. The father of the baby shuns the little creature, often only referred to as ‘it’ and grandmother Nkamba takes over the care. For now, this young albino girl has been spared by the Spirits of the Lake…..

Sarah and Charles Fielding live in the White House on the island of Ukewere, in the Mwanza region of Northern Tanzania, Charles runs a local mine (Charles Fielding Gold Limited) and usually has a good eye for a profitable investment. He starts planning for a hospital, ostensibly catering for the local populace, where AIDS is problematic. The local Shaman – Zuberi – is none too pleased by this turn of events, as a hospital facility is perceived as a threat to traditional medicine. Zuberi has the use of albino body parts in his arsenal, useful for ‘curing’ all manner of ailments. In fact, horrifyingly, hunters will still search out albino people to harvest their body parts for traditional medicine.

At one point the baby, Adimu, lands with the Fieldings. Sarah is tempted to take the little waif in as her own, their skin colour being on the same light spectrum, but the advice is to return the baby to its family of origin. However, a connection between the young girl and Sarah has now been forged and their paths cross several times. What makes an albino child different from a mzungu (white person)? This is a question that plagues little Adimu, she is similar, yet African and ultimately so different and sadly belonging nowhere.

Adimu grows up, with each rainy season marking a year in the calendar. Will she be able to attend the protected community for people with albinism in the Tanga region? Whatever her future she will have to remain vigilant throughout her lifetime.

Fortunes in this small, rural area of Tanzania change, especially for Charles. Threaded through the text are themes around the legacy of white rule, Christianity (in the form of Father Andrew), traditional culture, witchcraft, colonialism, mercenaries, greed and power, identity, displacement, rejection and difference… It becomes quite a Pot Pourri as the story unfolds.

The style of writing is very correct and quite formal, reminiscent of mid 20th Century diction; in fact it can feel quite worthy at times. It is a work in translation (from Italian), which may be the issue here. The Fieldings, for example, give Adimu ‘eyeglasses’ (which is acceptable in American English but feels old-fashioned in UK English). We know that the setting is contemporary because of the mention of AIDS, total-block sunscreen and that President Kikwete is in power, who was in office 2005-2015. The elision between the dovetailing storylines is a little stilted and overall the narrative errs on the side of telling rather than showing. The responses of the characters to various events are simplistic, and a little more fleshing out would, I feel, have made considerable difference to the quality of the characters that trail across the pages. An experienced editor could certainly add a greater 3-dimensionality to the storyline and nudge the narrative onto a more seamless trajectory.

It is certainly a thought-provoking subject, alarming that this practice is still rife. The book is notably published by #HelpAfricanAlbinos and the team behind the novel highlight the issues facing this minority group. The plight of those suffering albinism is also at the heart of Michael Stanley’s “Deadly Harvest” set in Botswana. It is a real Human Rights issue that deserves a wider understanding and action.

[Wayne Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the village of Murutanga on the island of Ukerewe, in Lake Victoria, Tanzania, a nation of Africa, a girl is born to Sefu and his second wife Juma. The child is an albino or zeru-zeru. According to local superstition, albinos are non-persons, evil omens of bad luck, and good for nothing but to be killed so that their body parts can be used in magic charms. Both Sefu and Juma reject the baby. The local witch doctor Zuberi wants the girl for his spells, but with the help of Mosi or Father Andrew, a native Jesuit priest, and the village chief Kondo, Sefu’s widowed mother Nkamba manages to save the child and names her Adimu meaning special. However, Juma’s cousin Yunis kidnaps the baby to throw her in the lake, then realizes that she is not a demon but a real child, and leaves her with Charles and Sarah Fielding, a rich white couple who have a mansion on the island. Sarah wants to adopt Adimu, but Charles says no, and she goes back to Nkamba, who raises her alone.

Several years later, after Nkamba dies, Adimu, now about thirteen, wants to go to a protected community where albinos can attend school, but she is kidnapped. Meanwhile, Mr. Fielding’s mining business goes under and he contracts with Zuberi to find him a dead zeru-zeru to be used for good luck. Unbeknownst to Charles, Zuberi sends some headhunters out to find Adimu. Also Kondo wants Adimu to marry his son Ramadani hoping that her “magic” will cure the young man who has tested HIV positive. What will happen to Adimu? Will she live to fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor? Or will she be sacrificed on the altar of ignorance? The subtitle to this book says, “A novel and a campaign supported by eleven Nobel prize laureates, the Dalai Lama, and Pope Francis.” That kind of endorsement would not necessarily attract me, but a copy was sent for my review.

There are several sexual references; most of them are not vulgar or obscene, but one of them suggests rape though it doesn’t actually describe it. Obviously, the book is definitely not suitable for children or even as a family read aloud. The plot tends to meander quite a bit, but the story is written in a way that generally held my attention. If one is willing to put up with and wade through all that, there is a serious problem addressed by the author. Although the account is fictional, it does highlight the very real issues faced by albino children in Africa. Did you know that one in 20,000 people around the world are albino, whereas in Africa, one in 2,000 to 4,000 Africans are born with albinism? And they are still sought after by witch doctors and people who want to get rich quick. Those who are interested in this international human rights awareness campaign will find Then She Was Born, which was a 2017 Award Winning B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree and received an Awesome Indies Seal of Excellence for Outstanding Independent Literature, an eye-opener. The novel is designed to raise awareness of the desperate plight of these children and to help support refuge villages like the ones depicted in the book.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

The shocking tale of how being different can also be fatal…

My thanks go out to the author for my copy of this book. Thanks for sharing this haunting novel…

When Adimu was conceived, it was a time of rejoicing for her parents and tribe. The pregnancy went well. And then Adimu was born and the world went mad…

This is the gripping story of how superstition and fear can lead to people who are different being treated as though they are not human. Adimu represents many other children who are born into a world that does not want them. She represents people who are destroyed by others because they do not fit what some people feel is normal.

Adimu was a healthy baby but was born what her people on the island of Murutanga referred to as a zeru zeru. She was born albino. To her people, such babies were evil and were generally left to starve in the forest. Adimu was allowed to live, to grow up into a young woman, although she did have to serve as a servant to her stepsisters. She was treated like a daughter by white gold-mine owner Charles Fielding and his wife Sara.

To the people of Murutanga, Adimu was as outcast as ever. But the people were possessive of their resident zeru zeru. When Adimu vanished from the island tension exploded that someone would dare steal their zeru zeru!

That Charles Fielding loved this girl with the odd complexion and the blonde hair is unquestionable. Then, when times had grown dark and his fortune began to wane, Fielding begins to listen to the native people talk of how possession of body parts from a zeru zeru can bring the most amazing fortune to whoever has them. He begins to see dollar signs dancing before his eyes and the lust for wealth drives him to the unthinkable.

He had thought that it would be someone besides the blonde young lady he knew all too well…

This book reveals man’s greed and cuts to the heart of Civil Rights. People are being denied basic rights because their skin is a different color; because they are women; because they have a different religion; because they have a sexual preference that others find detestable and more. People set themselves up as judge, jury, and executioner because they somehow feel they have the right. When you deny rights to another person based on trifles you take offense to, you are the one who needs a good look at yourself. No one has all the answers, and treating people as inferior shows just how ignorant, hateful, and loathsome you are…

Civil Rights leaders from all over the globe have come together to promote this book. I will add my voice to theirs. I give this book five stars plus…

Quoth the Raven…

[Jordan (Forever Lost in Literature) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Find this review at Forever Lost in Literature!

It's not easy to find a good starting ground to begin discussion of Then She Was Born, a novel meant to raise awareness about an injustice and horrific issue that is all too common in certain parts of the world and is supported by both the Dalai Lama and Pope Francis.

Then She was Born is about a young girl named Adimu who born to a couple in Tanzania. She is perfectly normal--except, of course, for the fact that she is born albino. In this culture, albinos are viewed in a highly superstitious manner as evil omens and harbingers of bad luck; in fact, most albino babies are simply killed. Adimu, however, is saved by her grandmother, Nkamba, who proceeds to raise her as her own child.

This is a novel about ignorance, struggle, superstition, greed, and how all of those things combine to create a toxic and dangerous environment. There is much to learn from these pages, and I think Gentili did a wonderful job of conveying the struggles faced by albinos and their inability to be accepted in some societies. This is certainly an issue that I don't think many people are aware exist, and I can wholeheartedly say that I think this book does a great job of portraying the issue in a well-rounded and informative manner.

The characters were all well-written and although many underwent changes that fit in well with the pacing of the novel, there were a few characters that didn't quite fit. Instead, there were a few characters that felt as if they were only there to further the plot rather than serve a more well-rounded function.

I found the plot itself a bit lacking at times and wished that there had been slightly better pacing to keep my interest up. Although the topic and overall story is eye-opening, the story itself still needed to be engaging enough to make me want to keep reading, and there were times when I wasn't as compelled to keep reading as I would have lied to be. I also would have liked to see Gentili discuss how the tribes themselves could work to change their attitude towards albinos while still maintaining many of their own unique cultural attributes, rather than focus solely on using Western science. Despite this, I still found Then She Was Born to be a good story overall that entertained and informed at the same time.

Overall, I've given Then She Was Born four stars! This is an incredibly important and informative book that does indeed bring much awareness to this vital human rights issue.

[Charles Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a little Tanzanian village a child is born, but her parents’ joy quickly turns to horror when they see that she’s different in a way that brings bad luck to the entire village, for she’s an albino. In many African cultures, albinos are objects of scorn and hatred, neither human nor animal. The father rejects her, refusing even to give her a name, and the villagers want her taken to the forest and left to die. But, her grandmother, remembering her own terrible experience when she gave birth to an albino child that was left to die, begs to be allowed to take the child and raise it.
Through a rare stroke of luck, the grandmother, Nkamba, convinces the village chief and the shaman and is allowed to take the child, which she names Adimu. Adimu grows up suffering the scorn of the village until she meets Charles and Sarah Fielding, a wealthy white couple who own a mine near the village. A bond develops between them, but Charles, a man consumed by the desire for wealth, suffers financial loss and falls sway to the village shaman, who covets power, leading him to make a decision that imperils Adimu’s life, his relationship with his wife, and his sanity.
Then She Was Born by Cristiano Gentili is a profound, thought-provoking novel that highlights the plight of albinos in Africa through the life of one such individual. The characters are brought to life on the pages, as is the physical and cultural environment and its impact on the people inhabiting it. The author could have preached about the terrible treatment inflicted upon albinos, but instead does a masterful job of ‘showing’ the reader through Adimu’s encounters with other villagers, with the gangs who hunt albinos for their supposed magical powers, and the relationships between black and white Africans, people who are united by a common culture while at the same time divided by race and class. Character motivations are also shown by their reactions to events; for instance, the shaman’s obsession with power as he puts his traditional beliefs up against the lure of Christianity, brought to Africa by the white missionaries, but carried on by local converts. At the same time, the way locals carry two belief systems and reconcile them in their daily lives, and the conflicts this causes, is highlighted. Throughout the book, the strength of the human spirit, and its ability to redeem is abundantly apparent.
The cover, a simple graphic showing hands of different colors clasped, highlights both the conflict and cooperation that exists in the story.
Without preaching, the author highlights the plight of Africa’s albinos more effectively than all the UN pamphlets or political speeches.
Another great strength of this book is that, though it was written originally in Italian, the English translation is so smooth, it’s not at all apparent that this is a translation.
Most westerners are unaware of the problems faced by albinos in traditional African societies, but after reading this book, can not only become aware, but might just be called to action to help do something about it.
I give this book five stars for theme and execution. A compelling read that you should not miss.

[Becca Chopra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Then She Was Born is both a novel and a wake-up call to join an international human rights awareness campaign (also supported by eleven Nobel Peace Prize laureates, the Dalai Lama and Pope Francis).

This call for racial healing is based on an inconceivable reality of the living conditions of Africans with albinism, but one that author Cristiano Gentili found to be true during a fact-finding trip to Tanzania.

He fictionalized the plight of African albinos into the heart-breaking, shocking story of a girl named Adimu, born into a rural village on an island off Tanzania, where superstitions about the magical powers and curses associated with albinos were alive and causing trauma and death to those born with this genetic defect.

In the book's Dedication, the author writes:

"I fear you because you are different. I hunt you because I fear you. You are different, you are few, you are unearthly. Suspended between two worlds, you are out of my control and, just like the gods, you may be our blackest disgrace or the gold of our fortune. And yet you cry and laugh as I do. Are you, or are you not, human?"

This book is not only a page-turning story of how Adimu survives, ostracized by her family who feel she is a curse, except for her grandmother, who keeps her safe until her own death. Then, Adimu is tricked into thinking she will be taken to a mainland sanctuary and school for albinos, but is instead hunted down and almost killed so that her body parts can be turned into amulets and other sources of fortune for those who do not understand that she is a human being, just like the rest of us.

This book can inspire racial healing, not only among the blacks in Africa - where albinism is still not always understood as a genetic difference - but wherever in the world we fear those who are different than us.

Through this well-told story, we fall in love with Adimu (although she could not be more unlike ourselves) and grieve for her terrible misfortunes. The novel is an engrossing page-turner, but also a real awakening to our own fears, often based on ancient prejudices and superstitions, that must be brought to light and transformed into love.

The official campaign website to increase awareness of the living conditions of Africans with albinism is www.HelpAfricanAlbinos.com.

[Donadee's Corner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Then She Was Born: Born to be different – Written by Cristiano Gentili – Reviewed 2/8/18
How do you survive when you’re so different?

A child is born, and the joy of her parents turns to horror. The child is different, in a way that will bring bad luck to their superstitious community. The tradition should be for her to be abandoned, but Nkamba, the grandmother, is allowed to care for her. Naming her Adimu, Nkamba raises her as her own. Adimu is constantly marginalized and shunned by the community, although her spirit remains undiminished and full of faith. But when she encounters the wealthy British mine owner Charles Fielding and his wife Sarah, it is the beginning of something which will test them all. As Charles Fielding’s fortunes wane, he turns in desperation to a witch doctor whose suggestion leaves him horrified. But as events begin to spiral out of control he succumbs to the suggestions and a group of men is sent on a terrible mission. The final acts, of one man driven by greed and another by power, will have a devastating effect on many lives.

What did I like? This was a very emotional book for me as I have friends that have gone through some of the problems that this book talks about. Of course, not to the extent of this story. Knowing how to deal with these emotional upheavals were not something that anyone could deal with much less a child. I thought the book was well thought out and the problem was addressed in a manner that anyone could understand. Not that we would ever want someone to experience what she went through. I loved the ending… It was AWESOME!

What will you like? Emotional, powerful, mind-boggling and horrific events. Looking at this history through our eyes even today will give you a sense of what goes on daily in the life of people of this nature. Opening our eyes and maybe finding a way to help even if it is only here in your own back yard would be wonderful. Make you think about how lucky you are to be who you are currently in our lives. Powerful Read!!!!!!!

[Lynelle Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received the book from the author for an honest review.

This is a book that gives you much to think about. There're so many topics touched and you're become more aware of the struggles of the people in Africa.

In Africa, cultureral believes and traditional doctors plays a big role in society. These believes could break or build a community but in this touching story the author showed through excellent storyteling how these believes can destroy a person that were not the same as them.

Albimism is a death sentence for those who lives in communities where wichdoctors has the last say. And a person with albinism has no life or future unless they can get outside help. Poverty and ignorance will trap them in the lies of deceiving people that wants to exploit them for their own greedy wants. No matter that person's position: father, leader or businessman they would use them for their own benefit.

When I said yes to this book review I had no idea what adventure and lessons I would learn from reading this book and I can recommend it to all readers that wants to know more about cultures in Africa or that loves a good read. The author did a wonderful work in creating this story, giving us a detailed look in little Adimu's life and the community she lived in. It is heart-tugging and believable so much that you could immersed yourself within the pages.
Each character's part played a supporting part in this story that really takes you into the heart of the matter - and I have learned more about albinism and their struggles.
As a reader I simply loved Adimu and her grandmother's roles, as well as Sarah. Personally I thought she could have done more but she too had her own struggles to overcome. Charles's character was very well developed and gave you a good sense of the mind of a white businessman.

Thanks for the opportunity to read this book, I wish you all the best with the sales, Cristiano Gentili.

[Cathryn Wellner · Rating 5 out of 5]

In March 2017 four albino children from Tanzania flew into JFK Airport. They arrived for a purpose, to be fitted for new prosthetics. Their missing limbs had been chopped off and sold at high prices for their supposedly magical powers. Even before they were mutilated, they lived as outcasts, feared and despised, believed to be accursed.

Cultural beliefs have incredible staying power, despite campaigns to counteract them. Italian humanitarian and writer Cristiano Gentili's searingly intense novel is his contribution to the struggle to bring acceptance to albino people. Since traveling to Tanzania in 2011 to learn about their fate, Gentili has devoted himself to raising awareness of their plight.

In Then She Was Born, we follow Adimu from her birth. Only the love of her grandmother, Nkamba, whose own albino baby was left to die, saves the child. She grows into an intelligent and resourceful girl, but behind the constricted life she is allowed are horrifying plots to harvest and parcel out her body parts.

Gentili weaves two other threads into the life of the albino child. One is the secretive plotting that hangs the shadow of horrible mutilation and death over her. The other is Adimu's encounter with Sarah, the wife of Charles Fielding, a British mine owner. Her desire to adopt the outcast is overruled by her wealthy husband. When the couple's fortunes dwindle, Charles becomes desperate and enters into a horrifying pact that further endangers Adimu.

The novel is gripping reading. The story behind it will haunt the reader long after the book ends. Such Nobel Peace Prize recipients as the Dalai Lama and Pope Francis have endorsed the book. Humanitarian organizations are working on behalf of albino people. Still, the end of the barbaric beliefs and practices that threaten albino people from birth is nowhere in sight.

This is a call to action. The compelling novel shows what can happen when fear of "the other" is taken to extremes.

[Carol Kean · Rating 4 out of 5]

The opening scenes of this novel illustrate a painful truth that is not widely known:
"...violence against people accused of sorcery is very much still with us. Far from fading away, thanks to digital interconnectedness and economic development, witch hunting has become a growing, global problem... people accused of witchcraft in Africa, the Pacific and Latin America, and even among immigrant communities in the United States and Western Europe. Researchers ...have estimated the murders of supposed witches as numbering in the thousands each year, while beatings and banishments could run into the millions." --Mitch Horowitz, "The Persecution of Witches, 21st-Century Style" https://nyti.ms/2hsH6UD

Cristiano Gentili fictionalizes the plight of African albinos in this shocking novel. An albino girl named Adimu is born in a rural village where her genetic condition is attributed to magical powers and curses. Sentenced to death, she is saved by her clever grandma in a scene so epic, it belongs on the big screen. (Hollywood, where are you?)

Adimu is shunned by her family, taken to a mainland school for albinos, then chased and almost killed by the equivalent of trophy hunters--because the superstitious and ignorant believe an albino's body parts can be turned into amulets and good fortune.

This is a brutal but well-written story. Ancient prejudices and superstitions are alive and well even in the 21st Century. Gentili brings to light a terrible practice that must be stopped. Education is the first step. Telling the truth via the guise of fiction is the most powerful, I believe, and this is one of the most powerful novels of the year.

(Four stars, because the prose could use more tightening and editing)

**Off to nominate it for the 20th annual Preditors and Editors Poll**
http://critters.org/predpoll/novel.shtml
Voting ends 14-January-2018

Follow Cristiano Gentili @CriGent on Twitter

[Sherry Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The birth of a child should be a time of rejoicing. But in a small village in Tanzania, Africa, the birth of an albino girl was a day of disgust and humiliation. The villagers considered this sweet girl a "zeru zeru:" something not even human. Then She Was Born, is the story of this little girl's horrible experience of rejection, being hunted, and nearly losing her life.

The book is well-written. The young albino girl, Adimu, is portrayed as a real person, with fears,dreams, and a need to be loved like anyone else. The reader can feel her pain as she experiences one hardship after another because of the color of her skin. The other character of note is Adimu's grandmother. The relationship between those two is strong. The grandmother wants to protect Adimu, and wishes for nothing more than a normal life for her granddaughter. One can admire her strength for protecting and supporting Adimu in the face of ridicule an opposition. This isn't a "feel good" book. The atrocities described within these pages will make the reader sick and may even bring one to tears.

Although this particular story is a work of fiction, there are children facing a similar plight in modern-day Africa. This book does an exceptional job of raising an awareness of the horrible things going on there. Highly recommended.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of an albino child in Tanzania, Then She Was Born is a heartbreaking novel, filled with fascinating, sometimes horrifying detail, and peopled with convincingly flawed characters. While the plight of a child who doesn’t know if she’s white or black--and doesn’t realize her life hangs by an ever weakening spiritual thread--is fascinating on its own, there’s also a universal sense to this novel. How do we, in our comfortably civilized cities, treat those who don’t fit in? Who do we blame for difference? And who will we protect?

Rejected by her parents and now the cause of their separation, Adimu views herself as a mistake. Witch doctors view her as bank of body parts for spiritual power. Hunters hope to catch and kill. And secular power exerts the greatest control.

Through the eyes of its curious protagonist, this novel offers an intriguing variety of points of view on skin color, religion, and the complex misunderstandings of love. It’s a sometimes terrifying tale, taking a long slow path to resolution. Soul searching internal dialog, wonderfully researched detail, and the knowledge that these stories truly happen, all make this a book not to be missed. But read slowly, and be ready to question yourself.

Disclosure: I was given a copy and I offer my honest review.

[Lilith Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a book that is not only heartfelt, but is coming to share a real-world problem.

Albino babies born in certain areas of the world are not protected. They are deemed as evil. Anyone trying to help them will be judged and excommunicated accordingly. This book is trying to bring awareness to this problem so albino children can have the help they need.

Adimu was born with no pigmentation in her skin. Her community wanted her dead. It was because of her grandmother that she lived. She tried her hardest to help Adimu, but it was not that easy. Adimu had to live in isolation with little to no care in the world.

Charles Fielding was wealthy. He build his empire and lived in a nice house with lots of luxuries. As he began to lose his wealth, a witch doctor suggested he seek the help of an albino.

In a very weird way, the two began to cross paths through this book.

From a person living in the US, we are very fortunate. I am not aware of many of the customs written in this book and had some difficulties. However, looking at this book from an objective point, I was very sad. It saddened me how people value human life. If you can, get this book, and see how you can make a difference today.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine and were in no way influenced by outside sources. I am a professional blogger at Little Lady Plays

[TammyJo Eckhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know much about albinos in America let alone Africa. In this work of fiction by Cristiano Gentili, I learned that today in some parts of the continent of Africa, people born with albinism are feared and if they live, their lives are very challenging. The thing is, I'm not sure this is unique to Africa.

Gentili has a clear writing style but I can't say that I loved it. For me, there were too many switching viewpoints, too many events going on that didn't directly involve the focus of the story, Adimu, a girl born with albinism in a traditional village. Eventually Adimu starts to show us her world but even after that, other viewpoints and other events are turned to. Yes, all of these people and events do impact Adimu's life but I believe the story would have been much stronger for me if it had been focused on her and her experiences.

A greater problem than that is the claim on and in the book that it is part of a campaign to address the treatment of albinos in Africa. While a lot of big names are tossed out, no website or official campaign name was given. A basic Google check revealed this project (helpafricanalbinos.com) but that needs to be listed in the book and over the cover repeated.

[Debra Schoenberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adimu is a zeru-zeru, a nobody. What her clan doesn’t understand is that she is not evil or to be feared, she is simply an albino. This fictional story takes place in Tanzania where albinism is common. In the larger cities such as Dar es Salaam, albinos are not treated any differently. However, in small villages where tribal religions and superstition are the norm, these children are treated as non-humans.

Although this book is a work of fiction, it brings to light the tragedy of being born an albino in Tanzania. Through the use of several very different characters, he author shows how these children are being abused solely on what they are perceived to be.

The plot was well written and suspenseful, however it does contain some very graphic scenes. Apart from a couple of awkward parts, the translation was very well done.

I have met several albino children in Canada over the past few years. These children are very much loved by their parents. I thought I would include a heartwarming photo of two young girls enjoying themselves at a wedding.

Then She Was Born is a compelling and thought-provoking narrative that draws our attention to the plight of albinos in Tanzania.

[Tracy Krauss · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have too many books to read so when I received a pdf copy I had my doubts that I would get around to it. But something drew me in... and kept me held captive! It was a book that I had a hard time putting down. The plight of albinos in modern day Africa is not an issue I was aware existed. but beyond that, this is a gripping story of a girl who is 'different', but who grapples to find her place in the world as someone of worth. There is an underlying Christian theme, but not blatantly so as to turn those off who do not subscribe to the Christian faith. Instead it is more about the triumph of the human spirit - of good over evil, although it does not end in a happy fairy tale. There are deep scares that will need to be dealt with by the characters. What I found amazing was that though this is fiction, many of the scenarios are taken from true stories - shocking in today's modern world.
Are there flaws in the book? Yes, some of them due to the translation process, perhaps. Sometimes there was no clear POV in a scene as the author seemed to take an 'omniscient' route and head hop from one character to the next. However, the power of the story itself made this insignificant. I was truly captivated and highly recommend this book to anyone who wants an adventure that offers something different, and a book that has a deep message that leaves one thinking about it long afterwards.

[Beverly McClure · Rating 5 out of 5]

A baby is born. The parents have waited for months for their precious new daughter. But wait! Something is wrong. The father is not happy. He calls his baby daughter a curse, a judgment. What a horrible thing to say. In THEN SHE WAS BORN, by author Christiano Gentili, this happens.

The newborn is a zeru, zeru, a “white shadow,” an albino. She brings bad luck to not only her family, but to the whole village. In Tanzania, they believe she belongs to the spirit of the lake so they take the newborn to the lake and leave her for the spirits to determine her fate: life or death.

I cannot imagine believing a baby is evil. I cannot believe parents would leave a newborn to the fate of wild things and nature. I understand, however, that customs differ from country to country.

Beliefs can change, however, and I pray that in countries like Tanzania, they will. For children like Adimu, who does not understand why no one loves her and why her skin is different, customs need to change. I love her innocence, and I admire her grandmother, NKimba, who risked all to raise the child. This is a tender story of family, love, misunderstandings, and changes. And someday, for all the children around the world, like Adimu, I pray that they will not face the same problems that she faces.

THEN SHE WAS BORN would make a great addition to high school classrooms and libraries. Recommended. I was given a copy of the book for my honest review.

[Sharon Gausch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a compelling read, a beautifully written novel about a real-life horror. As it focuses on the life of one African albino girl, it explores universal issues of acceptance and inclusion. Adimu is charming and intelligent and kind, but she lives a life of rejection and fear. Her grandmother is the only member of her village to accept and truly love her; other members of her village view her as bad luck, a phantom, while the witch doctor considers her only for the value of her body parts. We are drawn into Adimu's world, into her heart and mind--the perfect way to help us truly understand the struggle of albinos born into traditional African communities and to raise much needed awareness of this human rights tragedy. Gentili has done an admirable job in bringing this topic to life.

[onlythejessi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this book down. Such an amazing story. Yes, I said amazing.

Adimu is a brave, beautiful soul. Being born albino in the lands where white was not a color often seen, this story takes the reader through the thoughts, the secrets, and the ‘sorcery’ of the village.

Gentilli put so much detail unto this piece of work, I was living within the village as it lifted itself off the pages and became a reality. The journey, the gut-turning, heart-wrenching, blood-curdling screams within the soul make this a must- read. From happiness to sadness. From sadness to fear. From fear to reality. From reality to happiness. Then She Was Born is a rollercoaster of emotions, but must be read to open the eyes of the world to the reality some people live.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Then She Was Born
By Cristiano Gentili
Promoted by #HelpAfricanAlbinos
5 stars
Born to be different, surviving to make a difference
In many undeveloped countries, even in areas of the United States, there are unusual superstitions that have arisen and are hard to stamp out. This novel is written as fiction, but is based on true events, advanced and promoted by the above organization. The purpose is to educate the world at large about albinism, which is accepted as natural in our more developed countries, but not so particularly in Tanzania of Africa.
The natives of this area view an albino baby born as bad luck and must not survive. In this story, a daughter is born to Seefe and Juna, who immediately reject her when they see she is a white ghost (albino). The mother won’t nurse it and the father will often take it into the jungle to die. The idea is that the death is up to fate and they did not murder it. If they want the death to be faster, they may place it in the path of a herd of wild animals as it passes the village gate.
This particular albino baby is placed in such a dangerous spot, but the grandmother, Nkamba, decides the baby must live and if so, she will raise it. She names it Adimu, but albinos are “zeru zeru”, the cursed, the invisible, the cursed ghost, less than human. She soaks the baby’s blanket in animal urine and when the stampede takes place, the herd bypasses the baby upon smelling the urine. To this day these zeru zeru are hunted for sacrificial rites or sold for rituals and ingredients in magic medicines. Sometimes only a limb is cut off and the zeru zeru bleeds to death, so even after growing past the baby stage, the grandmother had to keep a close watch on Adimu so she isn’t kidnapped.
Adimu is constantly marginalized and shunned by the community, although her spirit remains undiminished and full of faith. She meets the wealthy white mine owner, Charles Fielding and his wife, and she wonders if Charles might be her father. Charles and his wife are childless and his wife, Sarah wants to adopt Adimu but Charles says no. Charles, after advice of a witch doctor, commits some terrible acts, which do not help Adimu. The story is rather grim, but so are the true living conditions for an albino in this part of the world.
Italian author and civil servant, Cristiano Gentili, earned his BA in political science, an MA in humanitarian assistance, and a PhD in social science. His compassion and exceptional involvement in aiding his fellowmen have found him in various locations throughout the globe, dealing with the after effects of war and natural disasters. In 2011, he went on a personal fact-finding trip to Tanzania, to assess the living conditions of Africans with albinism. From that experience, his goal became to raise awareness of the living conditions of African albinos through the #HelpAfricanAlbinos campaign. Cristiano has met with eleven Nobel Peace Laureates, the Dalai Lama and Pope Francis, who have each read a part of his novel and have leant their considerable support to the campaign. In the case of Pope Francis, Cristiano was invited to an international symposium on Africa at the Vatican, to speak about Africans with albinism. His commitment to his cause is endorsed by Pope Francis as a universal and interreligious message of peace and brotherhood.
I recommend this story for its valuable information and to help humanity to overcome this superstition, plus it is a joy to read because of the author’s adroitness as an author.

[Rosie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written, sad and sometimes shocking story about the experiences of an albino baby girl, Adimu, shunned by her parents and village, and raised by her grandmother. It is set in a rural village on a Tanzanian island where traditional religion still holds sway, although a catholic priest tries to bring people to the Christian faith. He himself lets Adimu down though as does pretty much everybody who knows her. She is viewed as a phantom, a spirit, not human, who brings bad, or good, luck, and her body parts will be desirable after death for ritual magic. The book was written as part of an advocacy campaign to fight for rights and protection for albinos in Africa.

[Bellatrix Lestrange · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ignoranza e superstizione.

Libro scorrevole e molto istruttivo, dai toni un po' distaccati ma comunque molto interessante. È incredibile vedere come l'ignoranza e la superstizione possano portare a gesti disumani. Un po' deludente il finale, che mi è sembrato frettoloso; mi sarei aspettata almeno un cenno sul futuro della protagonista dopo le numerose vicissitudini passate. Però forse è proprio l'intento dell'autore quello di rimanere distaccato.

Consiglierei questo libro per chi cerca una buona lettura su un fatto poco conosciuto seppur estremamente diffuso.

[Mrs Mommy Booknerd http://mrsmommybooknerd.blogspot.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

FirstLine ~ The mother's body broke open to make way for the baby's entry into the world.

I am not sure I can adequately capture the impact that this book had on me. It was heartbreaking and tragic. It will seriously hurt your heart, but it is also important and significant. It is one of those reads that will change the way you look at the world. A must read and one you will want to talk to others about, but may struggle to find the right words.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Page Turner!!! I came across this book by chance and what a wonderful chance it was! Its one of the books that you cannot put down. I loved the way the stories of each character weaved together, giving insight into small village life in Tanzania whilst touching upon a topic that so little is known about, albinos in Africa. I never imagined this book would be as interesting and as educating as it was. It left me wanting more, I can only hope that the author releases more books soon!