Dance of the Jakaranda
"This funny, perceptive and ambitious work of historical fiction by a Kenyan poet and novelist explores his country's colonial past and its legacy through the stories of three men involved with the building of a railroad linking Lake Victoria and the Indian Ocean -- what the Kikuyu called the 'Iron Snake' and the British called the 'Lunatic Express.'" --New York Times Book Review, Editors' Choice
Set in the shadow of Kenya's independence from Great Britain, Dance of the Jakaranda reimagines the special circumstances that brought black, brown, and white men together to lay the railroad that heralded the birth of the nation.
The novel traces the lives and loves of three men--preacher Richard Turnbull, the colonial administrator Ian McDonald, and Indian technician Babu Salim--whose lives intersect when they are implicated in the controversial birth of a child. Years later, when Babu's grandson, Rajan--who ekes out a living by singing Babu's epic tales of the railway's construction--accidentally kisses a mysterious stranger in a dark nightclub, the encounter provides the spark to illuminate the three men's shared, murky past.
With its riveting multiracial, multicultural cast and diverse literary allusions, Dance of the Jakaranda could well be a story of globalization. Yet the novel is firmly anchored in the African oral storytelling tradition, its language a dreamy, exalted, and earthy mix that creates new thresholds of identity, providing a fresh metaphor for race in contemporary Africa.
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Peter Kimani is a leading African writer of his generation. Born in 1971 in Kenya, he started his career as a journalist and has published several works of fiction and poetry. He was one of only three international poets commissioned by National Public Radio to compose and present a poem to mark Barack Obama's inauguration in January 2009. Kimani earned his doctorate in Creative Writing and Literature from the University of Houston's Creative Writing Program in 2014, and is a faculty member at Aga Khan University's Graduate School of Media and Communications in Nairobi. Dance of the Jakaranda is his third novel.
Kimani's novel has an impressive breadth and scope. His illustration of the construction of the railway from Mombasa to the hinterland of Kenya in the early 20th century follows three men -- a British colonial administrator, a Christian preacher, and an Indian -- whose lives have intersected in unexpected ways.-- "Los Angeles Review of Books, "Reclaiming Africa's Stolen Histories Through Fiction"
Peter Kimani, an acclaimed writer and poet, has brilliantly constructed this novel's plot . . . [His] lyrical prose, such as portraying the train as 'a massive snakelike creature, ' and his breathtaking descriptions of 'God's country' bring the beauty of the land before our eyes.-- "Historical Novels Review"
A rich tableau of layers and textures . . . The book has some brilliant moments of vivid and evocative writing.-- "Huffington Post"
African colonialism is confronted in this subtle, multilayered Kenyan tale . . . Lyrical and powerful . . . Kimani weaves together a bitter, hurtful past and hopeful present in this rich tale of Kenyan history and culture, the railroad, and the men and women whose lives it profoundly affected . . . This is a thoughtful story about a country's imperialist past.-- "Kirkus Reviews"
