Synopses & Reviews
Winner of the Neustadt International Prize for LiteratureFarah's landmark Variations on the Theme of an African Dictatorship trilogy is comprised by the novels Sweet and Sour Milk, Sardines, and Close Sesame. In this volume, the second of the three, a woman loses her job as editor of the national newspaper and then finds her efforts to instill her daughter with a sense of dignity and independence threatened by an oppressive government and the traditions of conservative Islam.
Sardines brilliantly combines a social commentary on life under a dictatorship with a compassionate exploration of African feminist issues.
Review
"A chilling exploration of corruption and terror . . . Mr. Farah has given us a powerful political statement that moves constantly toward song." --
The New York Times Book Review
About the Author
Nuruddin Farah was born in 1945 in Baidoa, in what is now the Republic of Somalia. His
Variations on the Theme of an African Dictatorship trilogy consists of the novels
Sweet and Sour Milk,
Sardines, and
Close Sesame. His other books include
From a Crooked Rib,
A Naked Needle, and
Maps. In 1991, he received the Swedish Tucholsky Literary Award, given to literary exiles, and he was the recipient of the German DAAD fellowship in 1990.