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A Girl From Zanzibar
“A headstrong heroine zigzags from Zanzibar to America in Roger King’s daring new novel.”—Elaina Richardson, O magazine
“There is no safe haven, this brilliant, prescient novel suggests.”—Suzanne Ruta, The New York Times
Winner of the Bay Area Book Reviewers Association Award for Best Novel 2002.
“There is no safe haven, this brilliant, prescient novel suggests.”—Suzanne Ruta, The New York Times
Winner of the Bay Area Book Reviewers Association Award for Best Novel 2002.
- GenresFiction
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
9 people are currently reading
82 people want to read
About the author
Roger King
13 books25 followersBorn on the northern border of London. Dad worked in a factory making lightbulbs, Mum was a bookkeeper. Happy enough.
Went to universities in UK and US, ending up with a doctorate in agricultural economics
Pursued career in "international development" concurrent with writing fiction. First novel was "Horizontal Hotel," set in Nigeria, after a spell teaching rural development at Ahmadu Bello University in that country.
http://rogerking.org/novels/horizonta...
Second novel, "Written on a Strangers Map" followed work in Sierra Leone, Liberia and The Gambia, and drew on the experience of becoming more personally and politically involved in these countries than was appropriate for a UN employee.
http://rogerking.org/novels/written-o...
Went on to work for UN agencies in twenty countries in Asia and Africa, before falling chronically ill with ME disease at 44. At the time he was a new professor of creative writing in the US, and had just completed the novel "Sea Level," which drew on multiple visits to Pakistan and Polynesia.
http://rogerking.org/novels/sea-level/
The prizewinning novel, "A Girl From Zanzibar," was published in 2002. His script of this book is perpetually on the brink of being made into a feature film.
http://rogerking.org/novels/a-girl-fr...
He executive produced, with Mira Nair, the feature documentary,"Still the Children Are Here," (2004) set in Megalaya, northeast India.
http://rogerking.org/film-more/
His autobiographical novel, "Love and Fatigue in America," about the experience of making a new life in the US while disabled by illness, was published in 2012.
http://rogerking.org/novels/love-and-...
He has won prizes for fiction and screenwriting, and received numerous fellowships, including those at The MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, VCCA, and Fundacion Valparaiso in Spain. He was a recent visiting fellow at Amherst College.
His work has been glowingly reviewed in the New York Times, The New Yorker, The Times Literary Supplement, The Guardian, and points south.
His books have not made him rich.
The jagged trajectory of his personal life can be deduced from reading his novels, allowing for imaginative misdirection. Looks colorful; felt painful.
He lives in Leverett Massachusetts with Django the canine cover model, and tries to spend time on sailing boats, purely for health reasons.
Finds coffee therapeutic
Is working a new novel.
Earlier novels soon to be republished.
Went to universities in UK and US, ending up with a doctorate in agricultural economics
Pursued career in "international development" concurrent with writing fiction. First novel was "Horizontal Hotel," set in Nigeria, after a spell teaching rural development at Ahmadu Bello University in that country.
http://rogerking.org/novels/horizonta...
Second novel, "Written on a Strangers Map" followed work in Sierra Leone, Liberia and The Gambia, and drew on the experience of becoming more personally and politically involved in these countries than was appropriate for a UN employee.
http://rogerking.org/novels/written-o...
Went on to work for UN agencies in twenty countries in Asia and Africa, before falling chronically ill with ME disease at 44. At the time he was a new professor of creative writing in the US, and had just completed the novel "Sea Level," which drew on multiple visits to Pakistan and Polynesia.
http://rogerking.org/novels/sea-level/
The prizewinning novel, "A Girl From Zanzibar," was published in 2002. His script of this book is perpetually on the brink of being made into a feature film.
http://rogerking.org/novels/a-girl-fr...
He executive produced, with Mira Nair, the feature documentary,"Still the Children Are Here," (2004) set in Megalaya, northeast India.
http://rogerking.org/film-more/
His autobiographical novel, "Love and Fatigue in America," about the experience of making a new life in the US while disabled by illness, was published in 2012.
http://rogerking.org/novels/love-and-...
He has won prizes for fiction and screenwriting, and received numerous fellowships, including those at The MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, VCCA, and Fundacion Valparaiso in Spain. He was a recent visiting fellow at Amherst College.
His work has been glowingly reviewed in the New York Times, The New Yorker, The Times Literary Supplement, The Guardian, and points south.
His books have not made him rich.
The jagged trajectory of his personal life can be deduced from reading his novels, allowing for imaginative misdirection. Looks colorful; felt painful.
He lives in Leverett Massachusetts with Django the canine cover model, and tries to spend time on sailing boats, purely for health reasons.
Finds coffee therapeutic
Is working a new novel.
Earlier novels soon to be republished.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 1, 2015
Several reviews on the Goodreads page of this book describe an autobiography about a man living with chronic fatigue syndrome. A Girl from Zanzibar, the book I read for my Transnational Asian-American literature course, features a Zanzibari of mixed African-Asian-Arabic-European-Catholic heritage as its protagonist - so unless I missed something huge when reading this for class (finals were approaching...), then some type of flub happened on this site.
Anyway, A Girl from Zanzibar follows the independent and insightful Marcella D'Souza from her childhood in her native Zanzibar, to the streets of London where she tries her hand at entrepreneurship, to a college town in Vermont where she teaches a vague course called "multi-cultural studies." The narrative fluctuates from past to present and back again as we see Marcella strive to claim ownership over herself and her identity, a difficult task as a perpetual foreigner.
Recommended to those who want to read about the effects of immigration on identity, the complicated nature of race relations in the context of interpersonal interactions, and a fierce protagonist who tries to reclaim her life in any way she can. Marcella never ceased to intrigue me, and she represents the best parts of A Girl from Zanzibar, both in its theme and its progression. While I felt the book's loose, nonlinear, and sometimes absent structure discombobulated my reading experience, I would still give this one the go-ahead to those who enjoy an eclectic and diverse story.
Anyway, A Girl from Zanzibar follows the independent and insightful Marcella D'Souza from her childhood in her native Zanzibar, to the streets of London where she tries her hand at entrepreneurship, to a college town in Vermont where she teaches a vague course called "multi-cultural studies." The narrative fluctuates from past to present and back again as we see Marcella strive to claim ownership over herself and her identity, a difficult task as a perpetual foreigner.
Recommended to those who want to read about the effects of immigration on identity, the complicated nature of race relations in the context of interpersonal interactions, and a fierce protagonist who tries to reclaim her life in any way she can. Marcella never ceased to intrigue me, and she represents the best parts of A Girl from Zanzibar, both in its theme and its progression. While I felt the book's loose, nonlinear, and sometimes absent structure discombobulated my reading experience, I would still give this one the go-ahead to those who enjoy an eclectic and diverse story.
July 27, 2013
A Girl From Zanzibar is about displacement - where we have been, where we want to be, and where we cannot escape from. This metaphorical place is concretely represented by Zanzibar, an island which embodies, at least for those of us in the western hemisphere, the concept of "far."
Marcella, a beautiful Zanzibari of mixed African-Asian-Arabic-European-Catholic-Muslim heritage, finds herself stuck in her homeland of Zanzibar after a failed attempt to get a passport. Through a series of misadventures involving a British visitor (who may or may not be a spy), a suave African with shady connections, and a questionable proposal of marriage, Marcella finally escapes the stifling environment of her homeland, launching herself into a new life in London. There, she attempts to make her way as a fledgling entrepreneur, only to find herself quickly enmeshed in the tangled web of the Asian underground: international arms deals, money laundering schemes, and suspiciously smooth real estate transactions. Soon, she is flying high. But her success is tempered by the increasingly risky schemes of her lover, Benji, and the impending threat posed by his "connections."
What is striking about this story is not just its exotic setting, but the way it is told. Roger King manages to weave this fascinating tale almost entirely from the standpoint of Marcella's recollections - for she is, at the telling of the story, a professor in a remote Vermont college. The unfolding of Marcella's haunted past in the context of a stodgy New England town makes for a remarkable contrast. And, as the story builds to its high point, when Marcella's safe present and dangerous past collide, the tension is almost unbearable.
King's writing is fluid, perceptive, and profoundly engaging. This is one of those books that is hard to put down, and even harder to forget. Highly recommended.
Marcella, a beautiful Zanzibari of mixed African-Asian-Arabic-European-Catholic-Muslim heritage, finds herself stuck in her homeland of Zanzibar after a failed attempt to get a passport. Through a series of misadventures involving a British visitor (who may or may not be a spy), a suave African with shady connections, and a questionable proposal of marriage, Marcella finally escapes the stifling environment of her homeland, launching herself into a new life in London. There, she attempts to make her way as a fledgling entrepreneur, only to find herself quickly enmeshed in the tangled web of the Asian underground: international arms deals, money laundering schemes, and suspiciously smooth real estate transactions. Soon, she is flying high. But her success is tempered by the increasingly risky schemes of her lover, Benji, and the impending threat posed by his "connections."
What is striking about this story is not just its exotic setting, but the way it is told. Roger King manages to weave this fascinating tale almost entirely from the standpoint of Marcella's recollections - for she is, at the telling of the story, a professor in a remote Vermont college. The unfolding of Marcella's haunted past in the context of a stodgy New England town makes for a remarkable contrast. And, as the story builds to its high point, when Marcella's safe present and dangerous past collide, the tension is almost unbearable.
King's writing is fluid, perceptive, and profoundly engaging. This is one of those books that is hard to put down, and even harder to forget. Highly recommended.
June 10, 2012
I want one of my friends to read this so I can discuss it with them. I found it very absorbing, I think I read it in a week.
"I think I have the making of a new theory here. Maybe these days, everything is so international, there's always an advantage in being from somewhere else. What is important is not local knowledge, but foreign knowledge. If the whole world is in motion, then the world's displaced are those who stay at home."
"I think I have the making of a new theory here. Maybe these days, everything is so international, there's always an advantage in being from somewhere else. What is important is not local knowledge, but foreign knowledge. If the whole world is in motion, then the world's displaced are those who stay at home."
November 24, 2009
Intriguing portrait of an international woman and what it means to be an immigrant.
June 7, 2013
A Girl From Zanzibar is about displacement - where we have been, where we want to be, and where we cannot escape from. This metaphorical place is concretely represented by Zanzibar, an island which embodies, at least for those of us in the western hemisphere, the concept of "far."
Marcella, a beautiful Zanzibari of mixed African-Asian-Arabic-European-Catholic-Muslim heritage, finds herself stuck in her homeland of Zanzibar after a failed attempt to get a passport. Through a series of misadventures involving a British visitor (who may or may not be a spy), a suave African with shady connections, and a questionable proposal of marriage, Marcella finally escapes the stifling environment of her homeland, launching herself into a new life in London. There, she attempts to make her way as a fledgling entrepreneur, only to find herself quickly enmeshed in the tangled web of the Asian underground: international arms deals, money laundering schemes, and suspiciously smooth real estate transactions. Soon, she is flying high. But her success is tempered by the increasingly risky schemes of her lover, Benji, and the impending threat posed by his "connections."
What is striking about this story is not just its exotic setting, but the way it is told. Roger King manages to weave this fascinating tale almost entirely from the standpoint of Marcella's recollections - for she is, at the telling of the story, a professor in a remote Vermont college. The unfolding of Marcella's haunted past in the context of a stodgy New England town makes for a remarkable contrast. And, as the story builds to its high point, when Marcella's safe present and dangerous past collide, the tension is almost unbearable.
King's writing is fluid, perceptive, and profoundly engaging. This is one of those books that is hard to put down, and even harder to forget. Highly recommended.
Marcella, a beautiful Zanzibari of mixed African-Asian-Arabic-European-Catholic-Muslim heritage, finds herself stuck in her homeland of Zanzibar after a failed attempt to get a passport. Through a series of misadventures involving a British visitor (who may or may not be a spy), a suave African with shady connections, and a questionable proposal of marriage, Marcella finally escapes the stifling environment of her homeland, launching herself into a new life in London. There, she attempts to make her way as a fledgling entrepreneur, only to find herself quickly enmeshed in the tangled web of the Asian underground: international arms deals, money laundering schemes, and suspiciously smooth real estate transactions. Soon, she is flying high. But her success is tempered by the increasingly risky schemes of her lover, Benji, and the impending threat posed by his "connections."
What is striking about this story is not just its exotic setting, but the way it is told. Roger King manages to weave this fascinating tale almost entirely from the standpoint of Marcella's recollections - for she is, at the telling of the story, a professor in a remote Vermont college. The unfolding of Marcella's haunted past in the context of a stodgy New England town makes for a remarkable contrast. And, as the story builds to its high point, when Marcella's safe present and dangerous past collide, the tension is almost unbearable.
King's writing is fluid, perceptive, and profoundly engaging. This is one of those books that is hard to put down, and even harder to forget. Highly recommended.
September 3, 2016
I learned a lot while reading this book. I, myself, am living in Hong Kong as an ex-pat. We are not called migrants because it is assumed we are rich. Originally from Germany and then to the US as a child, I was definitely a migrant back then, at least as the world defines it. The story has cemented my idea that living "afar" is much more exciting than living at "home".
March 30, 2008
Excellent read.. it lured me to Zanzibar!
January 6, 2012
I didn't really like this book at the beginning, but I found myself drawn in as I kept going, and the ending was fascinating and not at all what I expected.
February 19, 2020
This book was very intriguing. It was hard to follow at times. I definitely had to give it my undivided attention. I got lost a couple of times trying to follow all the names and workings going on throughout the book. I guess I was building for a climatic ending. Years have passed since I first started reading the book. I never finished and always thought bout it and longed to complete the story. I left on such a cliff hanger I guess.
Marcella was a multicultural multiracial individual. She was from Zanzibar but had roots from multiple ethnicities. I'm guessing this made her even more interesting and unique. She did not have a purpose in life as in career goal or professional destiny but she did have her mind set on leaving Zanzibar far far behind.
What was intriguing to me was her carefreeness to try new jobs and risky adventures. She was a restaurant owner for a spell. A home owner. A property developer? A caregiver. An arms dealer, maybe. An embezzler. A college professor. Thief. And a murderer. LOL SMH
This book was all over the place. It's not fast paced but it move continuously and you must keep up or you'll get lost in the sauce.
The ending left me wondering what happened to her. What happened to Benji. and If Asaph was really ....
Marcella was a multicultural multiracial individual. She was from Zanzibar but had roots from multiple ethnicities. I'm guessing this made her even more interesting and unique. She did not have a purpose in life as in career goal or professional destiny but she did have her mind set on leaving Zanzibar far far behind.
What was intriguing to me was her carefreeness to try new jobs and risky adventures. She was a restaurant owner for a spell. A home owner. A property developer? A caregiver. An arms dealer, maybe. An embezzler. A college professor. Thief. And a murderer. LOL SMH
This book was all over the place. It's not fast paced but it move continuously and you must keep up or you'll get lost in the sauce.
The ending left me wondering what happened to her. What happened to Benji. and If Asaph was really ....
July 24, 2018
A thought provoking story about multicultural people and the problems that ensue when everyone misunderstands everyone else. Wish I had read this before traveling to Zanzibar some years ago, as my brief visit would have been more meaningful. I would have preferred a different ending, but I think I know the reason for the one given.
Read
April 21, 2016I liked the premise of this book about a woman attempting to find a place for herself. However, I found the writing too much telling versus showing. And some of the most intriguing parts were barely addressed.
February 8, 2016
This novel was amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed the history, the politics and the insight to immigration and desperation. I highly suggest this novel to anyone interested in a woman who travels to different sections of the world, and the culture she gains from each new place.
December 2, 2015
This is the Story Of a girl... who left her island, and caused trouble all over the world......
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews