Black Mamba Boy

Black Mamba Boy
First edition
AuthorNadifa Mohamed
LanguageEnglish
Genrehistorical novel, roman a clef
PublisherHarperCollins
Publication date
2010
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages304 pp (1st hardcover edition)
ISBN0-374-11419-6
ISBN 978-0-374-11419-0 (recent paperback edition)
OCLC456171394
Followed byThe Orchard of Lost Souls 

Black Mamba Boy is a 2010 novel by the Somali-British author Nadifa Mohamed.

Overview

Black Mamba Boy (2010), the debut novel of Nadifa Mohamed, is a semi-autobiographical account of her father's life in Yemen in the 1930s and 40s, during the colonial period through a character called Jama.[1] It also recounts his trek through Sudan, Egypt, Palestine and the Mediterranean, before eventually settling in the United Kingdom.[2] Jama's journey starts from Aden, Yemen, in 1935, after the death of Ambaro, his mother, and ends in Port Talbot, Wales, in 1947.[3]

The "Black Mamba" reference in its title is an allusion to the black mamba snake. According to the author:

"When my grandmother was heavily pregnant with my father, she was following her family’s caravan and she got lost and separated from the others. She sat down to rest under an acacia tree and a black mamba snake crept upon her belly before slithering away, leaving her unharmed. She took this as a sign that the child she carried would always be protected, and that’s how the title of the book came about."[2]

Awards

The novel won the 2010 Betty Trask Award, and was short-listed for numerous awards, including the 2010 Guardian First Book Award,[4] the 2010 Dylan Thomas Prize,[5] and the 2010 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize.[6] The book was also long-listed for the 2010 Orange Prize for Fiction.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Black Mamba Boy, By Nadifa Mohamed", reviewed by Arifa Akbar, The Independent, 15 January 2010,
  2. ^ a b Laila Ali, "Somali Week Festival - Female Authors Showcase Their Work", WardheerNews.com, 28 October 2010. Archived 28 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Mohamed, Nadifa (2010). Black mamba boy (1st American ed.). New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-11419-0.
  4. ^ Benedicte Page, "Guardian first book award shortlist revealed", The Guardian, 29 October 2010.
  5. ^ "Somali author Nadifa Mohamed up for first book prize", BBC, 28 October 2010.
  6. ^ "Shortlist announced for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize 2010". booktrust. Archived from the original on 27 November 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  7. ^ Black Mamba Boy Archived 2010-03-23 at the Wayback Machine, Orange Prize for Fiction