Farah, Nuruddin

(Somalian, 1945– )

Farah is the author of eight novels, including two trilogies: Variations on the Theme of an African Dictatorship (1979–83), which deals with the personal effects of political injustice under the post-revolutionary Somalian regime, and the more recent Blood in the Sun (1986–98). Set during the Somalian civil war, this highly esteemed sequence begins with Maps (1986), the story of a young orphan wrestling with questions of identity and allegiance, and moves on to Gifts (1993), a love-story which also explores freedom and the ethics of giving. It finishes with Secrets (1998), as the reappearance of a childhood friend forces a young businessman to confront both his own past and his family's political history. Farah's novels are meditative, allegorical stories, which raise many disturbing questions about nationality and identity.

Salman Rushdie, Ben Okri.

See AFRICA  SR