Hiding in Plain Sight by Nuruddin Farah: book review

Hiding in Plain Sight (2015) is set in Kenya in contemporary times, written by the acclaimed Somali author Nuruddin Farah.

Somali-born international fashion photographer Bella, is living in Rome when she learns of the death of her brother Aar in Somalia in a terrorist attack.

Aar has two teenage children in Nairobi, Kenya, abandonned by his wife Valerie years previously: son Salif and daughter Dahaba. Bella travels to Kenya to help her niece and nephew – basically, to become their substitute parents.

Salif believes that the death of a father is the making of a son. Does he really believe this or is this his brave facade? Is it his unmaking? And what of his younger sister Dahaba – is it his duty to protect her? And what is aunt Bella’s role, who has now come to live with them? Dahaba is no pushover. She is wilful and intelligent. How does she cope with her father’s death?

But it is not just the three of them – Bella, Salif, and Dahaba. Aar also has a secret lover, Gunilla Johansson, a work colleague and head of the forensic department of the United Nations in Nairobi. Entering their circle now is Gunilla, and their mother Valerie – why has she suddenly returned and what does she want? And why is Padmini with Valerie? Padmini is not related to anyone, but Valerie insists that she is ‘like a sister to me.’ There are too many women embroiled in the aftermath of the death of one man!

This is a detailed book in need of an edit of the superfluous and excessive moralism. However, it does explore the themes of responsibility, duty, and family loyalty, as well as cultural and societal expectations, freedom of expression, tolerance, and understanding, making it interesting for the most part. It is also about the secrets people keep, not only from outsiders, but also family, and what happens when what some view as provocative and unconventional beliefs and attitudes are openly discussed.

Minority views are discussions that some nations still need to have, andNuruddin Farah’s book, Hiding in Plain Sight, could be timely, in light of Kenya’s banning of Wanuri Kahiu’s film ‘Rafiki’ – the first Kenyan film entry ever nominated for an award at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival in France in May 2018, but has just been banned for Kenyans to watch in their own country – not for its content as such, but for the ending – which the Kenyan Film Classification Board said on 27 April 2018 was ‘too hopeful.’ In reality, the ending is rather ambiguous. The Board did not oppose the film expressing views ‘against the dominant values, cultures and beliefs of the people of Kenya’ but it did oppose the notion that the film may have shown the minority views ‘as a way of life in Kenya.’ The Board asked the director, Wanuri Kahiu, to change the ending. She refused, stating that the Board’s request ‘amounted to creative censorship and violated her constitutional rights.’

MARTINA NICOLLSis an international aid and development consultant, and the authorof:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom(2017), 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).

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