When Pius Fernandes, a retired schoolteacher living in modern day Dar es Salaam, discovers a diary of a British colonial administrator from 1913, he is drawn into a provocative account of the Asian community of East Africa, and the liaisons, feelings and secrets of its people, over the course of a century.
Winner of the first Giller Prize for Canadian fiction in 1994, The Book of Secrets is an outstanding historical novel set in East Africa.When Pius Fernandes, a retired schoolteacher living in modern day Dar es Salaam, discovers a diary of a British colonial administrator from 1913, he is drawn into a provocative account of the Asian community of East Africa, and the liaisons, feelings and secrets of its people, over the course of a century.Part generational history, part detective story, part social chronicle, M.G. Vassanji's award-winning novel magnificently conjures setting and period as it explores notions of identity and exile.
“...a fascinating tale”
Sunday Herald M.G.Vassanji is an acclaimed author and The Book of Secrets is an epic novel that ought to knock your socks off. Only it doesn't. It is not all hard work, though. The descriptions of African life are often wonderful... Any one of the book's many strands would have provided sufficient meat for a novel on its own. The Times
M.G. Vassanji is the author of five acclaimed novels: The Gunny Sack, which won a regional Commonwealth Writers' Prize; No New Land; The Book of Secrets, which won the very first Giller Prize; Amiriika; and The In-Between World of Vikram Lall, which also received the Giller Prize. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two sons.
From the two-time winner of the Giller Prize and author of the international bestseller, The In-Between World of Vikram Lall"By turns detective story, family saga [and] national history . . . A rich evocative meditation on how and why stories are written." Sunday TimesWhen Pius Fernandes, a retired schoolteacher living in modernday Dar es Salaam, discovers the diary of a British colonial administrator from 1913, he is drawn into a provocative account of East Africa and the liaisons, feelings and secrets of its people over the course of a century."Vassanji captures a wide and authentic perspective that ranks with V.S. Naipaul and Graham Greene . . . a chillingly accurate novel." The Times"Written with a subtle pen and a compassionate eye . . . in a clear, simple rhythmic language that evokes the inexorable beat of an African drum - an unusual and satisfying read." Sunday Telegraph"An enchanting book written with wisdom and vision." Herald
Winner of the first Giller Prize for Canadian fiction in 1994, The Book of Secrets is an outstanding historical novel set in East Africa.When Pius Fernandes, a retired schoolteacher living in modern day Dar es Salaam, discovers a diary of a British colonial administrator from 1913, he is drawn into a provocative account of the Asian community of East Africa, and the liaisons, feelings and secrets of its people, over the course of a century.Part generational history, part detective story, part social chronicle, M.G. Vassanji's award-winning novel magnificently conjures setting and period as it explores notions of identity and exile.
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