Tag: East African setting

Mallee Stanley’s—Slow Poison

Mallee Stanley’s—Slow Poison

This is my eighth year at reviewing books I believe deserve a five out of five and I’ve come to that time again when I’m writing about my recently published book, “Slow Poison.”

Here’s the back cover blurb:

In 1960s Tanzania, Aliya is cherished by her grandfather yet overshadowed by a mother who never truly sees her. When political upheaval strips her family of almost everything and tragedy shatters the one bond that sustained her, Aliya is thrust into a life shaped by loss and silence.

A fleeting romance leads to a forced marriage, betrayal and devastating violence. Fleeing scandal, grief and danger, Aliya begins again in Vancouver, but whispers of her past follow and almost everything she has tried to bury refuses to stay hidden.

As buried love and guilt resurface, Aliya must confront the truth she has carried across continents— some pasts cannot be outrun only faced.

The ebook and paperback is available to Amazon.ca

I lived in Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam for several years and will be writing about my time there on my travel blog: https://malleestanley.wordpress.com

Sultan Somjee’s—Bead Bai

Sultan Somjee’s—Bead Bai

During the 1900s in East Africa, Sakina has a happy childhood amongst stories her family tell her of their troubled lives in India, the difficulty of travelling by sea from Bombay to Mombasa and the jamat’s help when they first arrived. It is a detailed historical experience of Asians coming to East African told though the eyes of young Sakina. But when she marries, leaving her loved ones far behind, the only comfort she has from her nagging mother-in-law and constant housework, is Maasai beadwork.

This is the second time I’ve read this book. I could smell the dust and feel the vastness of the landscape through the experiences of Sakina travelling in Kenya early last century. In particular, I loved the beautiful meaning behind the beadwork explained by the old Maasai to Sakina.