Botswana - Maru

Book #22: Maru - Bessie Head

"Margaret Cadmore, an orphaned Masarwa girl, comes to Dilepe to teach, only to discover that in this remote Botswana village her own people are treated as outcasts. In the love story and intrigue that follows, Bessie Head brilliantly combines a portrait of loneliness with a rich affirmation of the mystery and spirituality of life."

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Margaret Cadmore is an orphan who was raised by a the wife of a missionary (also named Margaret Cadmore). Margaret is a Marsawa, an untouchable. When she arrives in the village of Dilepe, ready to teach at the school, the villagers at first assume that she is "a coloured" - which seems to translate into a biracial person. This would be bad, but not nearly as horrible as being an untouchable. When she tells Pete, the principal of the school, that she is a Marsawa, he assumes that the village elders, specifically Maru and Moleka, will demand that she be fired, as they would not allow someone of her low status to teach in their school. But Pete's plans to fire Margaret hit a snag when he realizes that the most respected teacher at the school, Dikeledi, has befriended Margaret. I'm going to stop describing the plot at this point, because I don't want to give it away. But add politics, spirituality, superstition, love, sex, and betrayal (not necessarily in that order), and you've got "Maru." 

I thoroughly enjoyed this short but expansive book! 

Bosnia and Herzegovina - How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone

Book #21: How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone - Saša Stanišić

"For young Aleksandar - the best magician in the non-aligned states and painter of unfinished things - life is endowed with a mythic quality in the Bosnian town of Višegrad, a rich playground for his imagination. When his grandfather dies, Aleks channels his storytelling talent to help with his grief. 

It is a gift he calls on again when the shadow of war spreads to Višegrad, and the world as he knows it stops. Though Aleks and his family flee to Germany, he is haunted by his past - and by Asija, the mysterious girl he tried to save. Desperate to learn of her fate, Aleks returns to his hometown on the anniversary of his grandfather's death to discover what became of her and the life he left behind."

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I both loved and struggled to get through this book. I struggled, because much of the book is told from Aleksandar's childish POV. And it's often really hard to follow. Characters don't always have names, they have descriptions (ex: The Three-Dot-Ellipsis-Man, who speaks...like...this...). And trying to figure out how some of the characters relate to the main character and/or the overall storyline is frustrating at times. 

Eventually, I started skimming over those parts of the story and focused on the main themes: A young Bosnian boy, whose mother is Muslim, has to flee his small hometown during the 1992 Bosnian war. Along the way, he meets a young girl named Asija, a fellow refugee, who is hiding in the same cellar. Their families get separated, but Aleks never forgets her. Over the next 10 years, he sends her letters - though he doesn't know her last name. And then he tries calling random numbers, hoping to find her. Does he succeed? Guess you'll have to read the book to find out.