{"product_id":"dance-of-the-jakaranda-9781617754968","title":"Dance of the Jakaranda","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Peter Kimani\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Akashic Books, Ltd.\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Akashic Books, Ltd.\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: African American - General\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"This funny, perceptive and ambitious work of historical fiction by a Kenyan poet and novelist explores his country's colonial past and its legacy through the stories of three men involved with the building of a railroad linking Lake Victoria and the Indian Ocean -- what the Kikuyu called the 'Iron Snake' and the British called the 'Lunatic Express.'\" --\u003cem\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/em\u003e, Editors' Choice\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSet in the shadow of Kenya's independence from Great Britain, \u003cem\u003eDance of the Jakaranda\u003c\/em\u003e reimagines the special circumstances that brought black, brown, and white men together to lay the railroad that heralded the birth of the nation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe novel traces the lives and loves of three men--preacher Richard Turnbull, the colonial administrator Ian McDonald, and Indian technician Babu Salim--whose lives intersect when they are implicated in the controversial birth of a child. Years later, when Babu's grandson, Rajan--who ekes out a living by singing Babu's epic tales of the railway's construction--accidentally kisses a mysterious stranger in a dark nightclub, the encounter provides the spark to illuminate the three men's shared, murky past.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith its riveting multiracial, multicultural cast and diverse literary allusions, \u003cem\u003eDance of the Jakaranda\u003c\/em\u003e could well be a story of globalization. Yet the novel is firmly anchored in the African oral storytelling tradition, its language a dreamy, exalted, and earthy mix that creates new thresholds of identity, providing a fresh metaphor for race in contemporary Africa.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Atlantic Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46317533167767,"sku":"9781617754968","price":1651.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9781617754968.webp?v=1767711205","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/dance-of-the-jakaranda-9781617754968","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}