A Fragile Hope

by Kamoche, Ken N.

• ISBN13: 9781844713202
• ISBN10: 1844713202
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-04-30
• Publisher: Lightning Source Inc

Summary

The short stories in 'A Fragile Hope' are set in different locales, from Nairobi and small villages and slums in Kenya to London and Copenhagen, from the bustling humid cities Hong Kong and Bangkok to Shanghai. They are testimony to the author's keen eye on his many travels around the world. They tell the poignant stories of love, betrayal, trials and tribulations, dreams and aspirations, corruption and greed, self-discovery and redemption. In 'Black fishnet stockings', a rich Nairobi couple get entangled in a liaison with their poor workers. In 'The Warrior's Last Job', a hangman in a small Kenyan village battles the demons from his dark past as he seeks to maintain the façade of a venerable strongman. In 'The Smell of Fresh Grass', a Hong Kong girl who is lost in the confusing world of Copenhagen learns to reconcile with her estranged father following a chance encounter with a roving African musician. In 'London Slaves', a newly-minted Kenyan tycoon in the UK comes face to face with a form of discrimination that makes no sense to him. In the final story 'And then the End', an elderly Chinese driver is forced to confront the reality of his boss's conviction for corruption. Many of these stories have previously been published in journals/magazines such as Ambit, Wasafiri, Kunapipi, New York Stories and Author-me. For the first time, readers can appreciate this kaleidoscopic picture of the breadth and depth of the human condition in a truly multi-cultural collection.

Table of Contents

G3, 5Alice Balancing

Sisters

Freewheeling

How Technology Can Burn Down Your Home

History

Tender

Shingle Street

Untitled

Taiga

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

The Dream went Out 'This is going to be our big break, my brother.' Laughter. 'This is our chance! We'll make it, I tell you. This is the dream that came true!' Making it was all the rage. Nobody wanted to remain a nobody. They wanted to make it, to move on. But who would dream the dream of genuine freedom, freedom from the daily debilitating struggle of their lives? Karani yearned for that dream. He wanted to break free, and fly like a bird, to a nest well and truly feathered with crisp shilling notes. Making it big and filling in the void in lives that started with so much promise but usually ended up hanging precariously on the edge of pecuniary solipsism. The great dream that too often took the place of good old-fashioned work. But work did not seem to mean anything any more. It became the empty school room promise that delivered little in the job market. Just look at Charlie (Chah Lee to friends and non-friends alike). They said. See how he just recently started from nothing and now as a somebody runs a fleet of matatu minibuses, and a brand new C-class Merc! Pretty soon Nairobi won't be big enough for Chah Lee. The dream gets bigger than the dreamer. Yet, little was said about the money that changed hands to lend the dream a semblance of reality. The money that, like a furious April thunderstorm, washed away the myth that it couldn't be done. A few plum plots of land were 'allocated' to deserving citizens for services that were never clearly defined. But no one dared sully Chah Lee's reputation. Or that of some officer in the Lands Office. So, citizen Chah Lee, he of the imprecise services to an ill-defined community, placed the plots on the market even before the ink had dried on the quickly prepared transfer documents. In no time at all, Chah Lee was the embodiment of the new society of successful entrepreneurs. It was all so effortless. So much easier than they predicted in economics textbooks that made university such a bore for Karani and Olu. Demand and supply curves. What irrelevant nonsense! Karani had quickly discovered that in modern Kenya, all you needed was a friend or two in the right places. Supply and demand followed. You placed your demand. He supplied. And you supplied a little something in return. And the cycle went on. Just like a dream. But Karani didn't even know about the new deal in town. The deal Chah Lee was spinning like a spider's web around the city. The world of tablets, pellets and syringes. For Olu, this was the dream that came true. Karani could remember exactly how the decision was made. It was Olu's idea. Much of what he did to make a living was often Olu's idea. Ever since high school. Olu's Nigerian parents worked in Nairobi, or so the story went. Never really clear what they did. Consular connections. Business. Consultancy. Trade. Identities bandied about to lend credence to a story that shifted with the prevailing listener. Who cared? Olu justified himself in sports. He provided much-needed muscle for the rugby scrum. Handy with the hockey stick, especially when in defence of the school's injured pride. Lashing out at hapless rivals from some upstart school. Defining moments indeed, when Olu shone through as more Kenyan than the Kenyan-born, his accent notwithstanding. Years later; college in; college out, and Olu styled himself the Broker. A Mister Fix-it of sorts. Equipped with a legitimating Bachelor of Arts. You wanted it done, you talked to Olu. The broker with the winning grin and expansive persuasive gestures as he said, Just leave it with me. For the right price, Olu could fix anything, or so the myth went. But nothing excessively illegal. His style was to make money. Nice and legit; or at least, almost legitimate. That's why he called it legit. Almost there. Between a dream and the reality it sought to enact. Olu the dream giver talked serious money. That was always the plan, a