Shame by Melanie Finn: book review

Shame (2015) is set in Arnau, Switzerland, and Magulu, Tanzania, in contemporary times (2000s). Pilgrim Jones, an American woman, feels betrayed. Her husband, Tom Lankester, divorced her to marry Elise. Despite not wanting children when he was married to Pilgrim, Tom and Elise have a child.

Then Pilgrim has an ‘incident’ – a tragic incident – or accident – that brings guilt, hatred from others, and shame. The only thing to do is to escape the place where it happened. She travels to Tanzania.

From the capital of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, she meets Mama Gloria, and travels by bus to a remote village. But Pilgrim decides to stay. It is Magulu, only 20 miles from the Kenyan border. Here she stays at the Goodnight Bar and Inn, owned by Gladness. Pilgrim befriends Dorothea, the town’s doctor, who loves the town’s policeman, PC Kessy.

But the past catches up with Pilgrim. Detective Chief Inspector Paul Strebel from Arnau is looking for her. When he arrives in Dar es Salaam, he tells people that Pilgrim is in danger. Is she? In danger from whom? The other man looking for her? Or does Tanzania heal all wounds?

Written in the first person, by Pilgrim Jones, for the majority of the novel, it shifts towards the end. Back and forth in time and place is disorientating, but that is the intent of the author. What happens is disturbing. This is not just an account of what happens to Pilgrim, but what happens to others – others that also experience loss and despair, and revenge.

MARTINA NICOLLS is the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

Comments

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass...

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing...

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog