Close Sesame A Novel

by Farah, Nuruddin

• ISBN13: 9781555971625
• ISBN10: 1555971628
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-08-22
• Publisher: Graywolf Press

Summary

Farah's landmarkVariations on the Theme of an African Dictatorshiptrilogy is comprised by the novelsSweet and Sour Milk,Sardines, andClose Sesame.In this volume, the third and final book in the series, the characters are deeply entwined in the waking nightmare of a police state. An old man finds himself poised in mortal combat with an elusive and cunning enemy in an atmosphere where the distinction between public and private justice is always obscured. Close Sesameis a novel that offers "an eloquent indictment of the tyrannies committed both under Islamic law and in the name of Socialism" (The Observer).

Author Biography

Nuruddin Farah was born in 1945 in Baidoa, in what is now the Republic of Somalia. His Variations on the Theme of an African Dictatorship trilogy consists of the novels Sweet and Sour Milk, Sardines, and Close Sesame. His other books include From a Crooked Rib, A Naked Needle, and Maps. In 1991, he received the Swedish Tucholsky Literary Award, given to literary exiles, and he was the recipient of the German DAAD fellowship in 1990.

Table of Contents

Part One	1	(84)
A Door in the Darkness	3	(24)
The Devil at his Heels	27	(21)
With the Portcullis Down	48	(16)
The Key under the Mat by the Door	64	(21)
Part Two	85	(72)
History through an Unfocused Lens	87	(26)
Come Home, My Loveliest	113	(21)
The Possible Outlets	134	(23)
Part Three	157	(66)
A Paltry Thing	159	(20)
Raking of the Earth's Dust	179	(23)
What's Your Name, Jaalle?	202	(21)
Part Four	223	(2)
Epilogue With Death Only a Whisper Away	225	(14)
Author's Note	239