Dust

From the moment Odidi Oganda is gunned down on a Nairobi street, this stunning debut novel by the Caine Prize- winning Owuor grabs the reader's heart, refusing to let go. Blending short, staccato bursts of words with long, sensuous, prose passages, Owuor lays bare the tumultuous history of Kenya through the lives of Odidi's parents, Nyipir and Akai-ma, and his beloved sister, Ajany. Home from a self-imposed exile in Brazil, fueled by the madness of her grief, Ajany attempts to resuscitate Odidi by reconstructing the last ten years of his life. In doing so, her path crosses that of an equally despairing Englishman, Isaiah Bolton, wandering through Kenya in search of a father he's never known but whose name, Hugh Bolton, resonates with the Ogandas. Their families' secrets mimic those of the citizens of Kenya, whose lives are torn apart by repression and torture. Each fully formed character in this relentlessly sorrowful novel evinces a palpable longing for connection, and as the past unfolds, understanding evolves, anger dissipates, and tears of anguish and relief water the dusty land.