by M G Vassanji
Finally, some explanations. My usages of Kiswahili (or Swahili), Kikuyu, Hindi, Punjabi and Gujarati should be self-explanatory in their contexts. It should be noted that the terms “Indian” and “Asian” are interchangeable in this book, being terms in use in East Africa and meaning “South Asian” in today’s language, and “European” denotes “white.” This is a work of fiction. Although real public figures, especially the late President Jomo Kenyatta and the late J. M. Kariuki, appear in this novel, they do so as fictional characters only.
The Eliot quote in the epigraph is from T.S. Eliot: The Complete Poems and Plays (Harcourt Brace, 1971); the Swahili proverb is from Swahili Sayings 2, by S.S. Farsi (Kenya Literature Bureau, 1998).
ABOUT THE AUTHOR.
M.G. Vassanji was born in Kenya and raised in Tanzania. He took a doctorate in physics at M.I.T. and came to Canada in 1978. While working as a research associate and lecturer at the University of Toronto in the 1980s he began to dedicate himself seriously to writing.
Vassanji’s first novel, The Gunny Sack, won a regional Commonwealth Writers Prize, and he was invited to be writer-in-residence at the University of Iowa. He is the author of the acclaimed novels The Assassin’s Song, shortlisted for the 2007 Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Governor General’s Award for Fiction, No New Land, and Amriika. He has twice been awarded the Scotiabank Giller Prize, for his novels The Book of Secrets and The In-Between World of Vikram Lall, which was also shortlisted for the Trillium prize. He has won several other awards and is the author of two collections of short stories, Uhuru Street and When She Was Queen. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two sons.
Also by M.G. Vassanji
The Assassin’s Song
When She Was Queen
Amriika
The Book of Secrets
No New Land
Uhuru Street
The Gunny Sack
Acclaim for M.G. Vassanji’s
THE IN-BETWEEN WORLD OF VIKRAM LALL.
“An astonishing tapestry of irresistible vignettes, brilliantly exploring the painful lessons of history…A mesmerizing literary landscape…Luminous and inspiring.”
From the 2003 Giller Prize Jury Citation
“Most satisfying…. What Vassanji does wonderfully well, with zero hectoring and unsettling calm, is describe the complexity of race relations in post-colonial, multi-cultural societies…. It’s the reason [it] is both a gripping story and an enduring historical document.”
National Post
“A tremendous rendering of colonial Africa…and the effects of contradictory loyalties on a boy who turns into a man of ‘monstrous and reptilian cunning.’”
Ottawa Citizen
“A novel of elegant gesture, complex understanding, bright passion, and historical pain.”
O, The Oprah Magazine
“Beguiling…. This warm-hued, marvellously accomplished novel opens up a world that will be new and unfamiliar to many readers, and one that they’ll not easily forget.”
The Scotsman
“Vikram Lall is a dizzying book, due to the mixed stew of ethnic sensibilities and sensitivities and Vassanji’s balanced and dramatic storytelling…. It leaves the reader in a sense of wonder.”
Winnipeg Free Press
“Finely drawn…. An ambitious and enthralling work that takes in a broad sweep of Kenyan history.”
Times Literary Supplement (UK)
“In The In-Between World of Vikram Lall, he has written a powerful and compelling novel that explores many issues: public versus private lives; taking responsibilty for one’s decisions versus the refusal to make decisions or take stands; and deciding who belongs in one’s family and in one’s country.”
Edmonton Journal
“Vassanji is an excellent storyteller, describing domestic life and political machinations with equal skill. But the novel’s greatest strength is its characters…. They make good and bad choices, struggle with what is expected of them…and, most importantly, compel readers to examine their own actions and motivations, as most great literature does.”
Star-Phoenix (Saskatoon)
“Multi-layered, completely absorbing…this is not an in-between tale, but that rare thing: a perfect fusion of the personal with the political, rendered by a novelist at the height of his powers…. This is a taut, marvellous story, told in a dispassionate voice that still manages to convey passion and wonder…. Vassanji leaves his readers with dazzling images.”
Books in Canada
“Impressive and poetic, a good read that will leave most readers not only satisfied but eager to pursue the novel’s historical complexities…. Remarkable.”
The London Free Press
“[A] vivid and compelling tale of Kenya’s transition from colonial to African rule…. The true strength of The In-Between World of Vikram Lall lies in its storytelling…Vibrant.”
Scotland on Sunday
Copyright © M.G. Vassanji 2003
Anchor Canada edition published 2004
All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication, reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written consent of the publisher—or, in the case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a license from the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency—is an infringement of the copyright law.
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NATIONAL LIBRARY OF CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION
Vassanji, M.G.
The in-between world of Vikram Lall / M.G. Vassanji.
eISBN: 978-0-307-37192-8
1. Kenya—History—Mau Mau Emergency, 1952–1960—Fiction.
I. Title.
PS8593.A87I5 2004 C813'.54 C2004-902152-4
Published in Canada by Anchor Canada,a division of Random House of Canada Limited
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