Great African Reads discussion

This thread is for our March and April 2020 group read of Le dernier frère by Nathacha Appanah, SPOILERS ALLOWED (find the no-spoiler thread here).

Looking forward to read your views and comments!

So this book was extremely sad in the end but so so beautifully written it was impossible not to be completely immersed in it. Perhaps not a great read in these difficult times in terms of lifting morale (!) but I was flabbergasted to learn about the Jewish ship ending up in Mauritius. Unbelievable history

I agree Laura, the book was very beautiful but also heartbreaking. I had never heard of this history of Jewish refugees in Mauritius either but I have since been looking up information online about it. And found that there was a book written about this: The Mauritian Shekel: The Story of Jewish Detainees in Mauritius, 1940-1945 by Genevieve Pitot.

Thanks Valerie. I had read some material on the Internet but hadn't realised there was actually a book. All in all I think Appanah is a brilliant writer. The stories she chooses are always heartbreaking however.

Valerie wrote: "I agree Laura, the book was very beautiful but also heartbreaking. I had never heard of this history of Jewish refugees in Mauritius either but I have since been looking up information online about..."

The Mauritian Shekel is helpful for learning more information about this historical event. I used it to prepare for teaching The Last Brother to college students last year. I wish there was more information about this group of folks. It turns out that there remains a strong Jewish community in Mauritius as a result of this group of people interned there.

Augusta, good to know that you think the Mauritian Shekel is also worth reading. I will see if I can get my hands on a copy.

Laura, this was my first time reading Nathacha Appanah and I will certainly read more of her. I love writers who write without excessive linguistic flourish and yet manage to create such emotional depth.

I was only able to join now as my copy didn't reach me earlier. It was worth waiting though: what a sad, profound tragic story, told in such a beautiful, sensitive and poetic way. I agree with you and am very much impressed by the way Appanah brought this story.

The way traumatizing childhood events have a during impact is very well depicted: the culpability still felt by old Raj about his stake in David's death is telling.

This was also my first read of Nathacha Appanah and I would also love to discover more of her.

Great to read your review Wim. I d also like to discover more of her and this region of Africa.

Laura wrote: "Great to read your review Wim. I d also like to discover more of her and this region of Africa."

She's actually quite a prolific writer. She has at least 5 other works in French. I haven't gotten to them yet. Would be fun to read them together!

I would definitely be up to reading more of her books.

Sorry I can't join those discussing the French version, but eventually I will get around to reading it in English!

All of you who are reading or have read the English translation are also mostly welcome to share any thoughts on the book here.

I've just completed the English translation which I thought was very well translated as I think the language and tone are such important components of this book. I didn't know about the Jewish connection at all - such a tragedy.