Publication
Simon & Schuster Ltd (2014), Edition: UK ed.
Collections
Genres
Awards
Somerset Maugham Award (2014)
Hurston/Wright Legacy Award (Nominee — 2015)
Booklist Editor's Choice: Adult Books (Fiction — 2014)
World Library by The Guardian (Somalia)
Description
"The Orchard of Lost Souls takes place in Hargeisa in 1987, and charts the descent of Somalia into civil war through the entwined lives of three women"--
User reviews
LibraryThing member jveezer
Another African country read, another tale of post-colonial anarchy and dictatorship. Tanks rolling down your neighborhood street? As an American, that is hard to even imagine. But I read these books because I need to imagine those tanks in order to form an understanding of the world outside our
This is a tale of three generations of women. Kawsar is an old woman living out the end of her life alone in the bitterness of broken hopes that sprang from the promise of Somalia’s independence and then experienced the violence the government committed against its own people. Her view of the country’s independent history can be summed up by this passage: “It was the star that caused all the grief: that five-pointed star on the flag, with each point signifying a part of the Somali motherland, had led the country into war with Kenya and then Ethiopia, had fed a ruinous desire to reclaim territory that was long gone. The last defeat changed everything. After seventy-nine the guns that were turned outward reversed position and became trained on Somalis instead, the fury of humiliated men blowing back over the Haud desert.”
Filsan is a young woman in the Somali government’s army trying to make a mark in a world that gives a little lip service to modern women’s roles in the country but whose reality is still based in the sexism of tribalism, fundamentalism, and traditionalism. Raised in a broken home and trying to please a father who wished she had been a son, she is driven to succeed in a man’s world.
And, finally, Deqo is an orphan girl from the refugee camps who does the best she can do as a street urchin trying to stay out of the way of the army, police, predatory men, and other dangers of the street like prostitution and starvation. She is obviously intelligent enough to become street smart despite her lack of education. That “education” was simple: “Deqo has long been aware of how the soft flesh of her body is a liability; the first word she remembers learning is ‘shame’. The only education she received from the women in the camp concerned how to keep this shame at bay: don’t sit with your legs open, don’t touch your privates, don’t play with boys. The avoidance of shame seems to be at the heart of everything in a girl’s life.” One “plus” to Deqo not having a family is that she doesn’t have anyone to make her go through female circumcision nor is she really socialized to “want” to go through it. This practice is only lightly touched on in the book but profoundly effects at least one of the character’s life.
These three women weave in and out of each other’s orbits as the novel reaches its climax and Hargeisa becomes a battleground between the government and the rebel groups.
The author, Mohamed, is a Somali who was out of the country in 1986 when the civil war started in earnest. She was five. It wasn’t until 20 years later that she revisited her birthplace Hargeisa again. She writes here as an ex-pat but manages to capture the experience of women living through the Somali Civil War. This was a great first glimpse into the tragedy of recent Somali history as well as their culture.
Show More
borders. If more of us had a broader worldview, maybe we would insist on a more moral foreign policy that just might bring some justice to the world and just might make it hard for these dictators to hold their power. And maybe prevent us from slipping into a dictatorship that just might send tanks down your street. Even as a dictator takes the country down the drain, it is always the common people that suffer most; and this is a tale of those people.This is a tale of three generations of women. Kawsar is an old woman living out the end of her life alone in the bitterness of broken hopes that sprang from the promise of Somalia’s independence and then experienced the violence the government committed against its own people. Her view of the country’s independent history can be summed up by this passage: “It was the star that caused all the grief: that five-pointed star on the flag, with each point signifying a part of the Somali motherland, had led the country into war with Kenya and then Ethiopia, had fed a ruinous desire to reclaim territory that was long gone. The last defeat changed everything. After seventy-nine the guns that were turned outward reversed position and became trained on Somalis instead, the fury of humiliated men blowing back over the Haud desert.”
Filsan is a young woman in the Somali government’s army trying to make a mark in a world that gives a little lip service to modern women’s roles in the country but whose reality is still based in the sexism of tribalism, fundamentalism, and traditionalism. Raised in a broken home and trying to please a father who wished she had been a son, she is driven to succeed in a man’s world.
And, finally, Deqo is an orphan girl from the refugee camps who does the best she can do as a street urchin trying to stay out of the way of the army, police, predatory men, and other dangers of the street like prostitution and starvation. She is obviously intelligent enough to become street smart despite her lack of education. That “education” was simple: “Deqo has long been aware of how the soft flesh of her body is a liability; the first word she remembers learning is ‘shame’. The only education she received from the women in the camp concerned how to keep this shame at bay: don’t sit with your legs open, don’t touch your privates, don’t play with boys. The avoidance of shame seems to be at the heart of everything in a girl’s life.” One “plus” to Deqo not having a family is that she doesn’t have anyone to make her go through female circumcision nor is she really socialized to “want” to go through it. This practice is only lightly touched on in the book but profoundly effects at least one of the character’s life.
These three women weave in and out of each other’s orbits as the novel reaches its climax and Hargeisa becomes a battleground between the government and the rebel groups.
The author, Mohamed, is a Somali who was out of the country in 1986 when the civil war started in earnest. She was five. It wasn’t until 20 years later that she revisited her birthplace Hargeisa again. She writes here as an ex-pat but manages to capture the experience of women living through the Somali Civil War. This was a great first glimpse into the tragedy of recent Somali history as well as their culture.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Pattymclpn
This is another book with some haunting scenes. It gives us the portraits of three women and their journeys as their world is torn apart. We are presented with the hardships that existed. There was violence, poor medical treatment, poor living conditions and female castration.The story is told in a
Show More
straight forward matter of fact style that provokes emotion. It is shocking at times, but I had to keep reading it to find out what was going to happen next! The history of Somalia is revealed to us by the day-to-day activities of these women. These three women become united at the end when all they have left is each other. It is a story of their survival in a country torn by war. I felt the book did an awesome job of describing the atmosphere and time period of the 1980s in Somalia. This book was a quick read and full of action. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. Show Less
LibraryThing member DubaiReader
Civil war in Somalia.
I haven't read much about Somalia, so this was quite an eye-opener regarding the civil war which began in 1988 and in some form, still rages. The author was born in Hargeisa, where the novel is set, and where some of the fighting originated. She left with her family before
The three main characters are women: Deqo, only nine years old and who has never known anything other than life in a refugee camp, Filsan, a young soldier, determined to prove her worth to her dominant father and Kawsar, an older woman who is injured and bedridden. Each of the women is affected differently by the build-up to war, but all three have lost friends to the fighting.
This is a pretty intense novel, somewhat along the lines of Khaled Hosseini, but there is one scene, relating to blood donation, that will remain with me for a long time. Sometimes I just cannot believe the depths to which people will stoop.
I enjoyed Ms Mohamed's earlier book, Black Mamba Boy, but I thought this latest book was better written and more convincing. I am looking forward to whatever she writes next.
I haven't read much about Somalia, so this was quite an eye-opener regarding the civil war which began in 1988 and in some form, still rages. The author was born in Hargeisa, where the novel is set, and where some of the fighting originated. She left with her family before
Show More
hostilities began and now lives in London. I was lucky enough to hear her speak at a literary festival and was impressed by her presentation, which led me to read this book.The three main characters are women: Deqo, only nine years old and who has never known anything other than life in a refugee camp, Filsan, a young soldier, determined to prove her worth to her dominant father and Kawsar, an older woman who is injured and bedridden. Each of the women is affected differently by the build-up to war, but all three have lost friends to the fighting.
This is a pretty intense novel, somewhat along the lines of Khaled Hosseini, but there is one scene, relating to blood donation, that will remain with me for a long time. Sometimes I just cannot believe the depths to which people will stoop.
I enjoyed Ms Mohamed's earlier book, Black Mamba Boy, but I thought this latest book was better written and more convincing. I am looking forward to whatever she writes next.
Show Less
Language
Original language
English
ISBN
9781471115301
Physical description
352 p.; 5.12 inches
Pages
352