Customer Reviews

Diary of a Lost Girl: The Autobiography of Kola Boof

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1 star:		(10)

 

 

ONLINE REVIEWS--Dorthea Nivens
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
"Diary of a Lost Girl"--The Autobiography of Kola Boof
*****5 stars!!

Those who've read my reviews at Amazon.Com and especially those at Harvard University know that I am not an easy sucker who gives away points easily, so it shouldn't be taken lightly that I consider this book to be one of the most interesting, unforgettable tales I've read in years. Simply awesome.

I don't know whether Ms. Kola Boof was really and truly Osama Bin Laden's mistress once upon a time, but frankly, I don't care. The very bulk of this book is not about Mr. Bin Laden, but about a person infinitely more vulnerable, undeniably more talented, the seductive and enchanting Ms. Kola Boof.

This is not a cheap tawdry tell all in the least! This is passionate, "eccentric" feminist writing, however raw, lewd and verbose, and it deserves our attention and our understanding.

Many have written Ms. Boof off as crazy, racist and dishonest, but they simply haven't been fair! This is a brilliant writer--A WRITER--who is also an enigmatic larger than life character, one who is willing to bare all in public and be naked to the world even when her nakedness is ugly and distasteful to others, but by goodness, that's what the best art is all about when it's conveyed by a hand as magical and quixotic as the gifted Ms. Kola Boof.

Buy this book. The charm of it is that neither the book nor Ms. Boof are in any way predictable, and it's a joy and a marvel to read something totally alien and believable, yes I said believable, with so much extra layering of feeling, emotion and raw spilled guts these days.

I would compare this book closest to Joan Didion's "Year of Magical Thinking", and I would say that I enjoyed Kola Boof's "Diary of a Lost Girl" more.

I especially implore all Black ideologues, womanist and feminist readers and writers to get a copy of this book, ignore Ms. Boof's detractors, and nestle up with a writer who I believe is going to be one of the most influential in black literature in the coming decade. This book marks the birth of a powerfully astute and unique spell-inducing African rebel girl.

I was mesmerized, and that ain't easy to do.

Go Kola Boof.

I must confess I knew nothing of Kola Boof until I stumbled on her work while searching for material on political Islam. Kola Boof would have predicted my ignorance since I am a retired academic of Scandinavian ancestry living amid the cornfields of Iowa. But I found her (mixed) autobiography and collection of essays and poems fascinating and illuminating nevertheless.

Her autobiography is a tale of the triumph of indomitable will over adversity. Can one believe that a girl who was born along the upper Nile, who witnessed her parents being murdered, and was rejected by her own grandmother for being too black, and who was then rescued by a UNESCO worker and brought to the US where she received private tutoring and became a writer and poet? But there is more. She returned to North Africa as an adult and became a soft porn movie star and a mistress to Osasma bin Laden (before the events of 9/11/01). She then lived for a time in London and California where her writings against the Sudanese government brought a fatwa against her demanding she be executed for blasphemy. She finally settled down long enough to bear and raise her sons (but admits she never married their father, and admits that even this "common law" marriage eventually failed). Her hope for the future is to eliminate (or at least delegitimize) the racist denigration of black women by black males, and to campaign for an end to slavery and the oppression of blacks in the Sudan. (Whew!)

My first instinct was that her autobiography might just be a tall story, a sort of "urban myth" about self-redemption of the kind which has been so prominent in the news of late. But I had to admit in the end that all the objective, checkable, features of Kola Boof's autobiography checks out. (Her credibility was challenged by the NY Times, but follow-up investigations by Fox News and others confirmed all the objective features of her story. The tallest of her tall tales is that she was the mistress of Osama bin Laden in Morocco before 9/11. But bin Laden supporters do not deny the story. They apparently think a fling with a black girl is so minor a matter as to be beneath notice.)

Still, I do believe she padded her account at places. For example, she tells two stories about her involvement in gunfights. The first was in California, where a car-load of young Arab Muslim assassins tried to "hit" her with a drive-by shooting. She says she grabbed two concealed handguns she had with her and charged the car firing with a gun in both fists. She says she blew out their rear tires but they got away leaving blood on the street. The second gunfight occurred in London, where a man broke into her bedroom intent on rape and she grabed a concealed handgun and fired one shot, which wounded the assailant and drove him off. Neither story is at all plausible.

Handguns are heavy, and two would make a mighty bulky purse or set of holsters - not at all easy to conceal. Firing handguns accurately is difficult at best, and hitting anything when firing from both hands is nearly impossible, despite the old cowboy movies. The blood on the street would indicate wounds requiring hospitalization, and there is no record of that. The second story is more believable as a shooting, but how did she secure a concealable handgun in London? The English have vastly more restrictive gun laws than we do. And again there is no known hospital record of a gunshot wound.

Fortunately (for me), Kola Boof admitted near the end of her autobiography that she was haunted by nightmares in her later life, and these nightmares included attempts on her life by Arab youths in a car and a big man breaking into her bedroom. Such events could have caused the nightmares, but I prefer to believe the nightmares were the source of the stories. But this criticism is a mere quibble. Her overall story remains as astonishing and admirable as ever.

I was disturbed by her repeated assertion that black men had been "castrated" by white racism. But her reasons became evident to me when I read her concluding essay, "The Authentic Black Man" (p. 365 ff). As an African-born immigrant she is aware that black men as well as whites are "racist." Her point here is very similar to an obversation by Malcolm X. He noticed black men often prefer white women, which shows they are just as "racist" in their evaluation of their fellow blacks as are whites. (When Malcolm's friend "Shorty" took up with white women Malcolm X viewed this as a sign of Shorty's growing decadence.)

For Kola Boof to feel affirmed by this world, she must be affirmed as a black woman, and that will only happen when black men begin experiencing black women as even more alluring than white women. But unfortunately for Kola Boof, the whole weight of the world seems to be against her. Even in her native Sudan, Africa, black men seek out lighter-skinned women as high-prestige partners.

I hope and pray Kola Boof can find the affirmation she is seeking. Lord knows she deserves it. I know she would reject my suggestion, but cannot we distinguish race from culture? I would argue there really is something deficient about African culture. Otherwise (sub-Saharan) Africa would not have failed so abjectly to have created a positive and dynamic life for itself after colonialism, as has, for example, South Korea or India. Max Weber claimed the fruits of capitaliam were brought into being by the "Protestant ethic", by which he meant repressing feelings and emotions long enough to enact long-term projects and to fulfill our promises to one another. What Weber calls "the Protestant ethic" is what black school kids in America call "acting white." But unfortunately, if blacks or or anyone else wants to build the sort of advanced social world Kola Boof so admired when she first arrived in the US, there is no alternative to becoming much more self-controlled, and much less "instinctive", than she describes "true" blacks as being.

I fear my review has not done justice to Kola Boof's achievement. Buy it and read it. It is an unforgetable experience.

My girlfriend dared me to read this book. It literally knocked the wind out of me. It's beyond excellent, it's sorely needed in the black community. Tavis Smiley, Farrakhan and Eric Dyson should take pointers from Boof on black issues. My favorite was Boof's essay "The Authentic Black Male", but I'm reading the whole book again this weekend. I warn potential customers that there's an extraordinary amount of sex and violence, but not out of context. This is similar to Malcolm X's autobiography I thought.

Radio Producer-Buffalo, NY
WUFO 1080 AM
Book Review

Hey, this is Kristof Stevenson, one of the producers of Pat Freeman's current affairs radio program "THE MESSAGE" WUFO 1080 AM in Buffalo---not the kinda guy who normally writes book reviews, but this particular book--I gotta tell everybody about.

In preparation for the show, I read Kola Boof's autobiography not knowing what to expect as I'd barely heard of her before, and I have to say that I consider this book to be a new classic along the lines of "THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MALCOLM X" and that I couldn't put it down. My wife is reading it now and she can't put it down either.

I warn you that there's an awful lot of graphic sex in the book, there is Ms. Boof's abortion, her bouts with psychiatric problems and a lot of very graphic violence during her experiences in Africa's civil war and later as a female soldier in the SPLA (the initiation scene had me squirming), but if you can stomach the sex, language and violence, then you will find a very educational woman-oriented BOOK OF WISDOM at the center of this story.

This woman has lived a remarkable life and from page one, the truth about human nature and the evils of the world are layed in your palm to explode in your face, because Boof is such an awesome writer.

Unexpected chapters like Boof's essay "The Authentic Black Man" are so gut wrenching and relevant socially that it's worth the price of the book by itself.

I also found myself crying at the book's opening when Ms. Boof was orphaned and taken in by an Irish gentleman from UNICEF and shuttled from home to home following the death of her biological parents who were killed for speaking against slavery in Africa, and then later when Ms. Boof fell in love with the father of her children in the chapter "I Never Married My Husband", I

I've come to the conclusion that the real tragedy of this book is that everyone seems to think it's about Osama Bin Laden or that the focus is on him, when the reality is--the book focuses on an even more fascinating character, Ms. Kola Boof herself.

While the book does detail her experiences with Osama Bin Laden in great detail, and while I really did feel as though I'd been with Bin Laden myself because of Boof's great writing skills, I still enjoyed the rest of the book a lot more than I did the chapters on Osama Bin Laden.

For those who heard the broadcast, not only did the host of our show find "Diary of a Lost Girl" to be one of the best books he's read in some time, but so did I.

I was blown away by this book and I believe that anyone who reads it will be stunned by the tenderness and truthfulness of this woman's story. It's incredibly powerful and I'm recommending it to everyone I know.

***FIVE STARS!!!!**** all the way!!!!!

Unforgettable!

If this book had been edited correctly, it would have been half as long and much easier to read. The author repeats herself over and over throughout the book (most times using the same text). I found the first half of the book which focuses on her life very intriguing but the second half of the book very quickly turns into a manifesto to her sons. She should have written two books, one for her sons and one for those of us who were interested in her life story and did not need to read about her circumcision at least 50 times. The first half of the book is also plagued with interruptions. Every time the flow of the story got going, she would stop to blow off some steam about her critics and those who question the veracity of her story. Every time this occurred, I wanted to remind her that "I bought your book" so why are you subjecting me to these distractions? Bottom-line, for those who need their heart refilled with hatred about non-blacks (and many blacks she feels are unworthy of the title), this book will rally the troops.

As soon as I picked up Kola Boof's Diary I knew I was in for something, I was unsure what at the time but based on the images that graced the back of her book (she appears topless on the back cover) I knew this woman had more guts than glamour (No pun intended). She appears a beautiful woman with a story to tell so I began the journey through her diary. Diary offered me insight into the world of Kola Boof and her life in Africa and America, however the story of her life seemed to be on a constant interrupt. I felt jolted into and out of scenes of a movie as Kola began to take me through her journey scene by scene and line by line only to jolt me back to her reality with the speech of the moment. Kola's story proves her capability as a great writer and her speeches prove her passion for what she believes. However, these two sides of Ms. Boof did not make for a smooth journey through this book for this reader. But I guess the point being made is that life for Kola Boof has not been "no crystal stare" so why should it be for her readers. I applaud Ms. Boof's willingness to write about her affairs, her journeys and her pain. However, I would have loved to have had this book be converted into two - one for her life story and one for her speeches. Ms. Boof has an awesome story to tell the world even before Osama Bin Laden enters her life, however the jolting distractions as well as the vulgarness of her text throughout the book were enough to frustrate this reader on more than one occassion. While I can certainly understand that Ms. Boof's life was not "peaches and cream", do we the reader need to know every intimate detail of her sexual encounters? But as I said in the beginning, when I picked up this book I knew I was in for something and now I know what that something is - it's ALL of Kola Boof (life, speeches and recipes included).

The most essential element of the Kola Boof story is her claim to have been Osama Bin Laden's mistress. Despite relentless self-promotion, her first three books garnered little notice. It was her 2006 autobiography, with its bizarre portrayal of Bin Laden as a sexual predator who digs the B-52s and lusts for Whitney Houston, that propelled Kola Boof's name into the news and onto tens of thousands of websites. The less-than-discriminating decision last year by editors at Harper's magazine to run excerpts from "Diary of a Lost Girl" triggered a spasm of news coverage in the United States and Europe. Media interest in Boof has all but died out now, but without Osama, she never would have had the ride that peaked with cable-news interviews on Fox and MSNBC.

No one, of course, has been able to interview Bin Ladin to confirm Boof's intimate portrait, and her account of the rest of her life before she launched her Internet career in 2002 is similarly devoid of factual claims that can be verified. In one telling area, however -- the alleged Bin Ladin interlude -- "Diary" is actually quite explicit about real names, places, and dates. That particular information, it turns out, is surprisingly easy to check...and debunk.

Boof sets her months-long encounter with Bin Ladin at La Maison Arabe, a very real luxury hotel in Marrakesh. Boof relates how he installed her at the hotel and lived there with her off and on for months. She names the proprietors, Fabrizio Ruspoli and Philippe Cluzel, as "wonderful, friendly people." When her relationship with Bin Ladin was publicized a year after 9-11, Boof writes, Ruspoli saved her from being stripped of her American citizenship by assuring government officials that Bin Ladin had held her against her will. While she was at La Maison Arabe, Boof writes, the managers would tell other guests she was an American celebrity, and so she would overhear her fellow lodgers mistaking her for Whoopi Goldberg, or alternatively, Naomi Campbell. Her stay at La Maison Arabe ended, she says, when Bin Ladin abruptly kicked her out of their suite in June of 1996.

Those who are intrigued by these specifics might, quite naturally, google La Maison Arabe. And at the hotel's website they would find, on a page dedicated to reviews by the international travel press, that La Maison Arabe did not welcome its first guest until January of 1998.

For those still having trouble deciding what to make of the Kola Boof story, this is a highly relevant point: she states unequivocably in her "autobiography" that Bin Ladin checked her in to La Maison Arabe almost two years before there was any hotel to check in to.

It's not a question of a true story and a misremembered year, either. In early 1998, Bin Ladin was hiding out in Afghanistan and issuing his fatwa against America. At the same time, Boof writes, she was traveling the world as a spy for Sudanese anti-government rebels.

Osama is a double-edged sword for Boof. She succeeded in getting noticed by building her public persona around him, but as simple inquiry reveals, that also makes her story a transparently phony one.

www.lamaisonarabe.com

People. This is a great great great book. This is the only book I refuse to lend out to anyone, because I know they will keep it. I have bought many many of her books, as gifts. Wow. Where the bloody 'ell do I start. I don't believe there is a racist bone in her body. It's all about honesty. That's the bloody problem mates. Honesty. People don't want the reality. Don't want to read the "reality" . They'd rather read " fiction" and believe that! I totally bloody well forgot that Ol "Bin Laden " was even in the book. Totally forgot. When he finally entered into the "picture" I couldn't have cared less, but let me tell you this, me fine friends,the great great lot of chapters he IS in, well he's quite entertaining. AND SICKENING. BUT it's the truth. I know she is telling the truth. This woman should be held up as a role model. What she went through, is like a soldier at war. She prevailed. She survived. She's one of the lucky ones. I'm NOT a bleeding heart liberal. I'm a white, actually porcelain , white, female, that knows the truth when I read it, because I lived in the Middle East and went through hell. HELL. She actually downplayed a lot of things. Really she did. You wish to call her racist. I call her "REAL.." You think she's fibbing, or making up stories? I know the truth speaks louder than words, and lies, and that's exactly what people are afraid of. She is the Ultimate Woman. Cheers and God Bless NV
Natasha V.

I hadn't heard of Kola Boof until a few weeks ago, when the news came out that bin Laden had a "thing" for Whitney Houston-- according to his former mistress/sex slave. Always interested in the subject matter of Islamic terrorism, I ordered this book. I am so glad I did, too.

Kola Boof is a wonderful and HONEST writer. This is really one of the most passionate and honest memoirs I have read. She writes of her childhood growing up Muslim in Sudan-- the child of a Sudanese and an Egyptian. She shares her memories of her parents' love and her parents' murder. She shares her pain at being subsequently abandoned by her grandmother. Of the horrors she saw perpetuated by Muslim Arabs.

It's really an incredible book. Kola Boof's story is more of a testament to her life and her life's calling-- which is to educate the public about Islam and Islam's aim for Islamic rule and a return to the Caliphate. The author has seen unbelievable evil including rape, murder, beatings, theft. She talks about the slaves that the Muslims kept (her father was unhappy about this and spoke out-- that's why he was killed). She shares all of this with the reader eloquently and passionately. She will not be silenced.

Kola has denounced Islam and considers herself an African Woman and believes in "the Goddess". She is a feminist. However, because she criticizes Islam, she has been virtually ignored by the press and ignored by the Democratic party, although she is definitely a liberal democrat herself. The author points out the hypocrisy today within the Democratic party and the party's hypocritical tolerance for those who are intolerant of all, while being intolerant of those who just wish to speak the truth, share their stories, and share their information. This book is for EVERYONE, however. Please don't dismiss it because of your political leanings. This book is too important.

Some might find Kola a bit strong. This is her strength, though. She will not be silenced in the face of injustice. Her past could have cowered her, instead it gave her unbelievable strength. She is definitely a woman to be admired and listened to.

My name is Doniecia Simpson and I have been a fan of Kola Boof every since she was chosen as "WOMAN OF THE YEAR" by the Black Student Union at HOWARD UNIVERSITY in 2002 (go to Google and look up "Womanist Writers-Howard University"). Back then, we were hyped up over Ms. Boof's groundbreaking short story collection "Long Train to the Redeeming Sin: Stories of African Women".

At this moment in 2006, however, we're hyped up about the best autobiography we've ever read, "Diary of a Lost Girl".

Kola Boof is like sooooooo controversial. As the Nigerian scholar Chinweizu says, she is the MOST HATED WOMAN WRITER of this new century, because her work comes from a pure place is not owned by others. If you love authors like Alice Walker, Nikki Giovanni, Angela Davis and J. California Cooper, then you will love Kola Boof.

She is a Black Woman who dares to tell her life story without censor and she exposes many profound truths that are nasty and embarrassing about Black folks right on along with everyone else. Notably the disease of Colorism that is destroying the Black community and the Black race are brutally presented.

At HOWARD, we young black sistas cheer and applaud Kola Boof for telling it like it is and for loving us black youth enough to address what is going on in our world and to stand up for us. There is no writer doing it quite the way she does.

If you are looking for a book that is totally original, relentlessly frank and beautifully written, then this is it. You will not be able to put "Diary of a Lost Girl" down.

Of special interest for me was the vast historical data on Black people in Egypt and Sudan. Boof's life story is shocking and powerful in itself, but her command of African history and Black women's history is the best I've ever read.

WARNING THOUGH: This African author appears "topless" on the back covers of all her books.