Product reviewsBlack Mamba Boy by Nadifa Mohamed (Paperback, 2010)

The survival of a young boy on his own travelling through troubled countries

Nadifa Mohamed writes about her father's life based on his accounts of it but adding her own fiction to it, like giving him a sharp tongued wife.
The story of Jama Mohamed's life reminds me of David Copperfield, as he too is a child on his own that has to make his own way to find his absent father, undergoing many trials and tribulations in his journey through several countries.
The book is also interesting from a historical point of view, as it refers to the invasion of Ethiopia or Abyssinia, as it was called then, by the troops of Mussolini, and shows how Jama becomes an askari working for the Italian army due to his bright intelligence and talent for languages. In this situation he encountered much racial prejudice and cruelty, but also some kindness and recognition from a particular officer and great comradeship from the other askaris.
We follow Jama through various difficult and perilous journeys where he usually meets helpful people who welcome him in their midst, until he joins the merchant navy, which is where Jama Mohamed pursued a career in real life
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