Mkweli shook her head. Karl, youre so smart and caring, but at the same time so surprisingly stupid. How come?
Karl´s dream journey to Africa threatens to turn into a nightmare. He is a blue-eyed Swede, without a job, running away from a crime he hasnt committed. He is thousands of miles away from the woman he loves.
Mkweli, an outspoken Mombasa girl, becomes his guide. She tells him about Kenyas past and how the country might well have been next in line to become an apartheid state, if it had not been for the uprising in the fifties. But when he wants to know about the tribal confl icts she answers with a question: I hate all that ethnicity crap. Why dont you explain to me instead about all the tribal killings in Europe during the last hundred years?
He also learns that even if a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes, the truth can catch up in the end.
Hue of Blue gives us an elegant evocation of the African landscape and people, reminding of Green Hills of Africa. But while Hemingway apologizes for his books lack of a love story, this book
need not make such an apology.
Mark Spencer, Author of Graceland and the Weary Motel
In the capable hands of Nina Jaribu, this exquisitely crafted tale describes the meeting between African and Swedish cultures and
allows us to follow some young persons in significant moments of their lives.
Reginald W Carter, Author of Masks of the Darkest American Game