August 2010 Debut of the Month.
Shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize 2010.
Shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award 2010.
A compelling story about a young boy, Jama, growing up in Somalia and searching for his father who has left to try and find work in the Sudan. The book gives great insight in to the culture, class system and religion and spares no punches in the harsh reality that is Jama's life. Fascinating, gripping and ultimately uplifting this is a book that deserves the comparisons to Half of a Yellow Sun and The Kite Runner.
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| Primary Genre | Modern and Contemporary Fiction |
| Other Genres: | |
| Recommendations: |
Longlisted for the Orange Prize and winner of the Betty Trask Award. For fans of Half of a Yellow Sun, a stunning novel set in 1930s Somalia spanning a decade of war and upheaval, all seen through the eyes of a small boy alone in the world.
Aden, Yemen, 1935; a city vibrant, alive, and full of hidden dangers. And home to Jama, a ten year-old boy. But then his mother dies unexpectedly and he finds himself alone in the world.
Jama is forced home to his native Somalia, the land of his nomadic ancestors. War is on the horizon and the fascist Italian forces who control parts of East Africa are preparing for battle. Yet Jama cannot rest until he discovers whether his father, who has been absent from his life since he was a baby, is alive somewhere.
And so begins an epic journey which will take Jama north through Djibouti, war-torn Eritrea and Sudan, to Egypt. And from there, aboard a ship transporting Jewish refugees just released from German concentration camps, across the seas to Britain and freedom.
This story of one boy's long walk to freedom is also the story of how the Second World War affected Africa and its people; a story of displacement and family.
Black Mamba Boy features in the following genres: Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Debut Books of the Month, eBooks of the Month, Sharing Diverse Voices, General Fiction, Fiction, Recommendations
Black Mamba Boy is available in Paperback
Black Mamba Boy was written by Nadifa Mohamed and published by Harper an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Black Mamba Boy has 280 pages
£8.09
