Fairytales for Lost Children by Diriye Osman | Book Review

"When I dare to be powerful - to use my strength in the service of my vision - it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid." That's a great quote from the late African-American author, Audre Lorde. She was a civil rights activist, a feminist, and a proud lesbian. She died in 1992 at the age of fifty-eight and it's fitting that Diriye opens his collection with a quote from her. The first short story in Fairytales for Lost Children is Watering the Imagination, a two-paged story in which a Muslim mother from Somalia reflects on her daughter's life and defends her daughter's right to live as she pleases. Tell the Sun Not to Shine is the next story and it's a moving and memorable tale about a past lover. It's a loving flashback to what was and a piercing reminder of what can never be. I finished the story, paused, and then I read it again. The titular story Fairytales of Lost Children comes next and I like it a lot. A lot. It might be my favorite of the collection. Hirsi and his family fled Somalia and have started life afresh in Kenya but the move has them constantly looking over their shoulders in fear. The other stories in this collection are: Shoga, If I Were a Dance, Pavilion, Ndambi, Earthling, Your Silence Will Not Protect You, The Other (Wo)man, and finally My Roots Are Your Roots.

All of Diriye's protagonists are gay and lesbian except the mother in Watering the Imagination. I haven't read any other African short story collection with this many gay characters and that's worth noting. I enjoyed the first four stories very much but I wasn't particularly fond of the remaining seven stories. The Other (Wo)man shocked me (I'm probably easily shocked) as I read it on the bus while going home. It was the male equivalent of a pearl-clutching moment. Sometimes in short story collections you can pick up similarities in the various stories and sometimes they seem to reflect the author's personal experiences that are known to the reader. In this collection a lot of the protagonists have the similar backgrounds and characteristics - displaced from their home country, artistic in some fashion, having a Muslim heritage, being mentally ill - that seem more familiar with each subsequent story. Those characteristics and backgrounds are structural beams upon which each story in Fairytales for Lost Children collection is built. Is that bad? No... I just had to point that out.

Diriye doesn't try to appeal to mainstream audiences by watering down the collections' homosexual content or by skimping on the details of sexual activity. Fairytales of Lost Children is outlandish and bursting with a pride that cannot be stamped out. I love the collection's title a lot but not the book cover art. I'm certain that something more creative could have been conceived in its place. Regardless, this is very important work. Michael Jackson's song, Lost Children played randomly in my head while I read this book. It's one of my favorite MJ songs and I think it's fitting too. This collection of short stories is for all the lost children out there, the LGBT family, especially those of African heritage. We're "wishing them well and wishing them home" (italicized words are lyrics from Michael Jackson's song, Lost Children). Kudos to Diriye Osman.

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Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta | Book Review

Ijeoma is a young Nigerian girl, an only child, who lives with her parents in Southern Nigeria. We are introduced to her family in the time period of the Nigeria-Biafra civil war. Everything around them is crumbling down and it's not long before Ijeoma's dad dies from an air strike. Ijeoma's mom sends her off to live with her father's close friend because living conditions in Ojoto are getting worse even though Ijeoma would prefer to follow her to Aba. When they both reunite one and a half years later it's because Ijeoma has been caught doing something "abominable" with another girl, Amina. Her mother decides to nip this in the bud by conducting protracted daily Bible studies with Ijeoma, painstakingly covering the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelations, and coupling that with loud, fervent prayers, beseeching God, begging Him to banish all abominable desires from her daughter. That was many years ago. An older Ijeoma looks back on her life as she narrates this tale, taking time to describe surroundings, seasons and dreams as she lays the groundwork for this very important story.

Okparanta explores and questions the complexities of the Bible's teachings in a way that Christians are often taught not to. Her selected scriptures, especially those from the Bible book of Lot, are fitting, poignant, and thought provoking. In the telling of this tale Okparanta grabs the bull by the horns and forces you to confront this controversial issue in the hopes that you (especially her countrymen) reexamine your thoughts on the subject matter. Under the Udala Trees is shamelessly honest, a moving tale of forbidden love by the amazingly gifted and incredibly courageous Chinelo Okparanta. This is a tale well told, a job very well done. You should read this.
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READ: 
Happiness, Like Water by Chinelo Okparanta - My Thoughts

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The Hairdresser of Harare by Tendai Huchu | Book Review

Vimbai Hozo makes a big first impression on the beginning three pages of The Hairdresser of
Harare. She's self-assured, blunt, conscious of her own greatness in Harare and not afraid to own it. In her words she's the "Queen Bee" and her place of employment - Khumalo Hair and Beauty Treatment Salon - is her domain. Being regarded as the best hairdresser in all of Harare, which she says equates to being "the best in the whole country", feels good and neither her employer nor her fellow employees pose a competitive threat. Then one day Dumisani Ncube walks into the salon seeking employment. He's confident, very highly skilled and spontaneous. He has a customer service approach that's very different from Vimbai's and much more successful. Vimbai's dethronement seems imminent with his arrival and then the story takes a different turn from what you might have expected.

The Hairdresser of Harare was great from the beginning. I got excited because Tendai Huchu's another gifted Zimbabwean author to rally around after my 2013 introduction to NoViolet Bulawayo. Even though The Hairdresser of Harare is set in Zimbabwe, the commonality of the African experience shines through with slightly varying details. Once we leave the salon drama and power struggle and delve into the personal lives of the main characters I wasn't as excited as I was in the beginning but I still found the novel engaging. Tendai Huchu builds up to a "big reveal" that I wish had been a chapter in the character's life and not his whole story. I wasn't too pleased with the ending of this novel. It's a hasty wrapping up of the story but it still works in some way. The Hairdresser of Harare is entertaining and humorous. It's a fine debut by Tendai Huchu.
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READ:
We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo - My Thoughts

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Happiness, Like Water by Chinelo Okparanta | Book Review

Happiness, Like Water is a collection of ten compelling short stories. It begins with Chinwe and Eze in the story On Ohaeto Street. Chinwe is quiet and dutiful woman who becomes a Jehovah's Witness in order to marry Eze, a prosperous and materialistic Jehovah's Witness whom she first meets when he arrives at her mother's doorstep to preach the good news of God's Kingdom. After marriage and with the passage of time, Chinwe's disquiet grows and she questions her choices and weighs her options. The collection continues with Wahala, Fairness, Story, Story!, Runs Girl, America, Shelter, Grace, Designs, and finally Tumors and Butterflies. These are stories about relationships, domestic abuse, colorism, immigration and girls who love girls, narrated by female protagonists for the most part. Each tale sits comfortably on its own, weighty and deep, ready to be lengthened if Okparanta chooses.

When I found out Chinelo Okparanta had been raised a Jehovah's Witness I hoped that she would explore that religious background deeply in one of the stories but she didn't and that's fine. The stories America and Grace are bold in their exploration of Nigerian protagonists attracted to members of the same sex but still somewhat tame in its handling of the accompanying issues. I don't think any Nigerian author has written this openly about same sex relationships since Jude Dibia broke the ice with his debut novel, Walking With Shadows, and followed up in his third novel, Blackbird. Happiness, Like Water is a well written short story collection that can't be ignored in any line-up. Chinelo Okparanta is a bold new voice and an excellent addition to the literary throng of voices from Nigeria. Her full length novel Under the Udala Trees will be released in two weeks on September 22nd, 2015.
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READ:
11 Questions for Jude Dibia

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