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by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor
Odidi Oganda, running for his life, is gunned down in the streets of Nairobi. His grief-stricken sister, Ajany, just returned from Brazil, and their father bring his body back to their crumbling home deep in the Kenyan drylands, seeking some comfort and peace.
But the murder has stirred memories long left untouched, and unleashed a series of unexpected events: Odidi and Ajany's mercurial mother flees in a fit of anguish and rage; a young Englishman arrives at the Ogandas' house, seeking his missing father; a hardened policeman who has borne witness to unspeakable acts reopens a cold case; and an all-seeing Trader with a murky identity plots an overdue revenge.
In scenes stretching from the violent upheaval of contemporary Kenya, back through a shocking political assassination in 1969 and the Mau Mau uprisings against British colonial rule in the 1950s, we come to learn the secrets held by this parched landscape, buried deep within the shared past of the family and of a conflicted nation. Here is a spellbinding novel about a brother and sister who have lost their way; about how myths come to pass, history is written, and war stains us forever.
"Starred Review. There is hardly any aspect of Kenya that Owuor seems unable to tackle with her unique flair in this masterfully executed novel, from the mid–20th century's Mau Mau rebellion and its aftermath to the stirring personal destinies of her sundry cast of characters." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. This stunning debut novel grabs the reader's heart, refusing to let go... Owuor represents another shining talent among Africa's young writers publishing in English... These unforgettable characters and universal themes will speak to all readers who seek truth and beauty in their literature." - Library Journal
"The prose has an appealingly rough-hewn poetry, built on clipped sentences and brush-stroke evocations of the dry landscape....[Owuor] has style to spare, which more than compensates for the looseness of the narrative." - Kirkus
This information about Dust was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor was born in Kenya. She won the 2003 Caine Prize and is a past recipient of a Chevening Scholarship and an Iowa Writers' Fellowship. She was named Woman of the Year by Eve magazine in Kenya in 2004 for her contribution to the country's literature and arts. From 2003 to 2005, she was the executive director of the Zanzibar International Film Festival, and she has also been a TEDx Nairobi speaker and a Lannan Foundation resident.
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