Customer Reviews

Cockroach Dance (Longman African Classics Series)

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I've never written a review, but seeing that no one has sung this books' praises, I thought I would write my first....

The Cockroach Dance, set in modern Nairobi, Kenya, is the story one's mans fight against the system in Kenya wrought with curruption and ineptnitude. Dusman Gonzaga lives in an delapidated apartment block filled with a memorable cast of characters, and the story (often hilarious and ultimately uplifting), chronicles Dusman's daily struggles and fights in his attempts to survive in an oppresive, modern African city.

I read this year's ago, so details escape me, but I remember loving it, laughing with and at and empathizing with the protagonist. One scene that has always stayed with me was when a city worker was trying to get Dusman to reveal his tribal origin and Dusman refuses to answer. It brought home all the signifigance of tribalism in Africa and how difficult its restaints are to escape.

A great read for anyone, and particulary for anyone with a passing interest in what life is like for the average African city dweller.

A brief disclaimer, I was sitting in a campsite on the outskirts of Nairobi when I was reading this book so it had a certain resonance that it might not have with someone who has never been to Africa or to Nairobi in particular.