Liido Beach: A Novel

by Afdhere Jama

Set in the 1980s Mogadishu of lavish lifestyles and incoming chaos, an impromptu beach day turns to gold for seventeen-year-old Hanad when nineteen-year-old Farah shows up as everything he has ever dreamed of. They fall into romantic bliss, but Farah’s past threatens to get in the way. ‘Liido Beach’ presents an eclectic group of characters whose stories celebrate a golden era in Somali history.

164 pages, Paperback

Published September 19, 2018

Reviews

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are off-putting typos and awkward phrases, unclear cultural and religious references, and Arabic words. But it’s still a thought-provoking story. Also, I enjoyed the story-within-the-story (about a young sultan going on hajj), the changing narrators/perspectives in several chapters (reminding me of “The Poisonwood Bible” though not as well done), and the author’s ability to convey the characters’ psychology, which reminded me that’s how I felt about Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter.”

P.S. I noticed the Kindle version corrected the funniest typo. In the print edition, there’s a demon looking for someone but isn’t sure if he’s found the right man, so “the demon blows Hanad, which makes the young man feel a bit of a chill on his face....”. The Kindle version says “the demon “blows towards” Hanad. Completely different visual.