NOWHERE IN AFRICA: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOVEL BY STEPHANIE ZWEIG (BOOK REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION)

Today I shall review another autobiographical novel....and what a wonderful novel it is! Written by Stephanie Zweig, it tells a tale of a German Jewish family surviving in Kenya during the Second World War. I would especially recommend it to German readers, as they can read it in the language it was written it. There is also an awarded movie version for those of you who aren't exactly bookworms.

 With the expectation of Slaughterhouse 5 that I read and reviewed fairly recently (also set in WW2), it's really been a while since I read an autobiographical novel and I was really up for it. It was one of the first books I've read this summer and now as the summer is slowly but surely coming to its end, it's time for me to review it.

 Nowhere in Africa is a novel about a Jewish family that escapes Nazi Germany and flies to Kenya to an uncertain future. It's an autobiographical novel, meaning that the author based it on her own experiences. It's beautifully written and feels absolutely authentic. It's touching but it's not sentimental. It's sensitive when it talks about the sensitive topics but it's real enough. The writing is realistic but it's not emotionless. In fact, there is a lot of emotion in this novel. It's not overwhelming, though. 

OTHER SUMMER READS: 

FABLES FOR ROBOTS BY STANISLAW LEM / THE LATHE OF HEAVEN BY URSULA K. LE GUIN

THE FATHER FACING THE UNCERTAIN FUTURE

 The father is the first to leave Germany and immigrate Africa, a continent completed unknown to him. I call him father before I ever name him  (his name is Walter). There's a reason for that. The author herself said this is a book about a father who has taught her daughter how not to hate. Such profound words! The perfect way to describe this autobiographical novel. Walter is based on Stefanie's father. He's an important character in this novel. 

 Walter sort of establishes himself there in Africa, but his life is anything but easy. Walter doesn't speak English, he doesn't have any money or connections. In reality, his circumstances are quite desperate. He survives with the help of the locals and by that I mean more Kenyans than other Europeans. Other Europeans seem to keep to themselves. Not once in the novel it is revealed that European Africans don't really like the Jews. 

During their time in Africa, the family establishes close relationship with some of the locals.  The father gives it all he has, but everything is absolutely uncertain. His wife Jettel arrives as well, but struggles with adapting to life in Africa. Life in Africa for them is indeed hard and uncertain. Walter complains because Jettel buys an evening dress prior to arriving.  Walter  wonders- Where is Jettel supposed to wear the dress? Educated and respected, lawyer Walter and his wife Jettel once lead a comfortable life in Germany. They are just refugees now, uncertain will they see their family or any of their parents even again. Imagine the isolation and fear they must have felt. Trying to manage a farm for some European for a few dollars. They who have been urban dwellers, upper middle class, and know nothing about farm management must learn not only how to work on a farm but how to survive with almost nothing. 

THE WIFE ARRIVES AND THEY STRUGGLE TOGETHER

So, the two of them understandably struggle. It's no like the wife is just spoiled (as the synopsis of this novel usually indicates). For some reasons, book synopsis tend to portray Jettel in a bad light. I didn't get this feel from the books. Perhaps Walter is more proactive, but that is to expected.  Yes, Jettel had been somewhat spoiled up to that point. It's mentioned in the novel that Jettel was shielded from life by her parents, that she was popular and beautiful girl. However,  everyone would struggle to adapt to a new life under such circumstances. There's nothing in the novel that indicates that Jettel is so spoiled as to make it a personality trait. I think Walter and Jettel do admirably well under the circumstances. They are both aware that they might never see their family again. Between them is sorrow, despair and differences of opinion. However, there's also love. So, a child is born. A girl named Regina. 

A GERMAN JEWISH GIRL BORN IN AFRICA

Little Regina loves Africa. She loves its people, its languages and dialects. She is, as you perhaps guessed, based on the writer herself. At times it feels like the writer is writing a love letter to Africa. The description of Africa are often poetic and feel heart-felt. It is possible that the author was remembering her own childhood in Africa. Whatever being the case, Stefanie Zweig certainly gave a feeling of authenticity to the writing in this novel. There's a magic of childhood interwoven into descriptions of Africa. There's a wonderful passage in the novel, where some African women try to sell bananas to passengers in the train, Regine being one of them. Regina answers the women in Swahili, saying she is as poor as a monkey. The African women smiles and gives her the banana saying it was for the little monkey. There's a moment of closeness between this German Jewish child that was raised in Africa, taught Swahili by an African nanny and that is really in a way-also an African. 

REGINA AND HER PARENTS REALLY CONNECT WITH THE AFRICANS

Regina and her family strike friendship with Africans. Perhaps on some  level, the Africans feel that the Jewish Europeans are discriminated against by other Europeans. The Africans sense it- You're not like the other Europeans. You're not like other Germans. 

At some point, the British put all the Jewish in some kind of a hotel. It's not exactly a prison, but they are held against their will, so it kind of is. The families are separated. It's really a horrible thing. It's get sorted up, but it's still horrible. 

WALTER JOINS THE ARMY TO FIGHT IN WW2

 The father manages to enroll in the British army to fight in WW2 eventually. Walter doesn't speak  English, so you can imagine how hard it is for him being in the English army. He does his best, as always. Walter manages to become a part of the English army despite the language barrier. He even gets along with some army men. One officer assures him- I'm not English, I'm Scottish. However, antisemitism of the other Europeans is present in the novel. Some wonder, how could Walter possibly consider going back to Germany. As the novel progresses, I had a feeling I understood Walter better. Antisemitism is everywhere. There's no fleeing it. 

THE GERMAN JEWISH IDENTITY 

This novel questions identity in an interesting way. The father decides to return to Germany. Why? It might be because he feels German. He is a Jew but also a German. Something that might seem impossible to some.  He keeps repeating that not all Germans are Nazis. By the end of the book, I wondered if he didn't mean himself. If he didn't consider himself a full German.

THERE'S ALSO THE QUESTION OF LANGUAGE IDENTITY

Once the hatred poured on Germans, the German Jews were not spared. Many of them were spoke only German and now they were prosecuted for it. Is German language to be blamed? There's such a thing as a language identity and it's something I (as a language teacher) often think about. Regina acts as a translator for her parents most of the novel. Walter and Jettel somehow manage to send Regina to school where she learns perfect English. She becomes the only person in her family to speak English fluently. 

A SET OF MEMORABLE CHARACTERS

There's so many memorable characters in this novel. One is the principal of school who strikes a friendship with Regina. The principal doesn't usually talk with the kids, but he makes an expectation for Regina. Impressed with her academic efforts (Regina studies so hard she skips two classes as soon as she starts school), the principal and Regina talk about English literature.

There's also a charming family friend who impresses young Regina a lot. There's naturally also mentioning of lost family members. One day family gets a letter from family members telling them they are going to Poland. What they didn't know is that there were going Auschwitz. There's tragedy and sadness in this novel.  Fates of many characters are interwoven with sorrow. The characters feel human. They suffer and at times get overwhelmed with life. 

MORE READING RECOMMENDATIONS FROM JEWISH AUTHORS

 THE HUMAN STAIN, A NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN-JEWISH WRITER PHILIP ROTH 

THE MAGNETIC CLOUD, A NOVEL BY A POLISH- JEWISH WRITER STANISLAW LEM

EDEN & THE INVINCIBLE, NOVELS BY STANISLAW LEM

RETURN FROM THE STARTS, A NOVEL BY STANISLAW LEM

SOLARIS, A NOVEL BY STANISLAW LEM

FIMA, A NOVEL BY ISRAELI WRITER AMOS OZ

HERZOG, A NOVEL BY AMERICAN-JEWISH WRITER SAUL BELLOW

ANNA FRANK, THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL

CONCLUSION- A HIGLY RECOMMENDED NOVEL!

The narrative is  linear and the writing is easy to follow. The novel is written from a third person omniscient view, but it is not devoid of personality. It's rich in dialogue. It focuses on its characters a lot. Therefore, it feels quite personal. The descriptions of Africa are wonderful. There's also maturity in the writing. It feels like the author had had time to ponder her life and write her own conclusions about things.

What I got from this novel was a rewarding reading experience. I got from it many things at once. While reading it, I sometimes had a feeling that I was listening to someone narrate their own life. At other times, I  got a feeling I was reading a regular novel with a well developed plot and characters. Moreover, sometimes the writing felt philosophical and meditative. In short,  Nowhere in Africa is all the things an ideal autobiographical novel should be. It's imaginative and yet realistic, warm and serious at the same time. 

I definitely recommend this novel to everyone. If you are not much of a reader, go for the film version. I haven't seen it, but supposedly, it's quite good. It's certainly a tale worth telling. 

*The photographs in this post are a few years old, but I don't think I have posted them before. I just picked a few I liked because I didn't have the photos of actually posing with the book. The photographs of the books (my summer reads) are obviously new. You might have seen some of the covers already. Plus, there's one new author that I'm about to review. Can you find his name on the book covers?

 As always thank you for reading and visiting.