{"product_id":"dance-of-the-jakaranda-paperback","title":"Dance of the Jakaranda - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003ePeter Kimani\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"This funny, perceptive and ambitious work of historical fiction by a Kenyan poet and novelist explores his country's colonial past and its legacy through the stories of three men involved with the building of a railroad linking Lake Victoria and the Indian Ocean -- what the Kikuyu called the 'Iron Snake' and the British called the 'Lunatic Express.'\" --\u003cem\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/em\u003e, Editors' Choice\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSet in the shadow of Kenya's independence from Great Britain, \u003cem\u003eDance of the Jakaranda\u003c\/em\u003e reimagines the special circumstances that brought black, brown, and white men together to lay the railroad that heralded the birth of the nation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe novel traces the lives and loves of three men--preacher Richard Turnbull, the colonial administrator Ian McDonald, and Indian technician Babu Salim--whose lives intersect when they are implicated in the controversial birth of a child. Years later, when Babu's grandson, Rajan--who ekes out a living by singing Babu's epic tales of the railway's construction--accidentally kisses a mysterious stranger in a dark nightclub, the encounter provides the spark to illuminate the three men's shared, murky past.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith its riveting multiracial, multicultural cast and diverse literary allusions, \u003cem\u003eDance of the Jakaranda\u003c\/em\u003e could well be a story of globalization. Yet the novel is firmly anchored in the African oral storytelling tradition, its language a dreamy, exalted, and earthy mix that creates new thresholds of identity, providing a fresh metaphor for race in contemporary Africa.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePeter Kimani\u003c\/b\u003e is a leading African writer of his generation. Born in 1971 in Kenya, he started his career as a journalist and has published several works of fiction and poetry. He was one of only three international poets commissioned by National Public Radio to compose and present a poem to mark Barack Obama's inauguration in January 2009. Kimani earned his doctorate in Creative Writing and Literature from the University of Houston's Creative Writing Program in 2014, and is a faculty member at Aga Khan University's Graduate School of Media and Communications in Nairobi. \u003ci\u003eDance of the Jakaranda\u003c\/i\u003e is his third novel.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 344\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.1 x 8.2 x 5.2 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e February 07, 2017\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51770638074144,"sku":"9781617754968","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/511c3142ed3940c9a32f5f934b0ead9f.webp?v=1780375961","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/dance-of-the-jakaranda-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}