Masquerade

by Mohamed Wa Baile

The novel “Masquerade” addresses the complexity of the contemporary experience of African immigrants by focusing on the intersections between race, gender and class divisions between and among Africans, immigrants, and Europeans. It is rooted in the African tradition of the fantastic, and is back-grounded by an alternate reality in which a united postcolonial Pan-Africa struggles to define itself and overcome the legacies of colonialism.

Violence, corruption, poverty. But also, love, laughter, family, and deep community bonds. That is what Sira, a young African woman, leaves behind when she emigrates to Ulaya, the semi-mythological land of Europeans. Her story begins with a rape at the hands of local thugs. The reader follows her through an ill-considered marriage and hasty emigration to Europe, a difficult adjustment period in which she begins to reclaim her life and explore the possibilities of her relationship, and then back to Kalamu, where she must face just how much she has changed. The book is notable for its balance between Sira’s individual trauma and growth, and the larger political themes addressed by the author.

358 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2014

About the author

Mohamed Wa Baile was born and raised in Mombasa. He lived in Cape Town for four year before settling in Switzerland. He holds a BA in Islamic Studies from the University of Wales, and MAS in Peace Studies from the University of Basel. He studied English Literature at the University of Fribourg. He works as a documentalist for the ETH-Zürich and lives with his family in Bern.