“It is good to have as a guardian a former student, if one allows to slip by the occasional glimmers of contempt that show themselves in the gracelessness of a joke, the rudeness of unexpected familiarity, and gives due recongnition to the genuine kindness and respect that are also there.”

- from M. G. Vassanji's The Book of Secrets

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This book is many stories woven into one. It tells of the life of an Indian intellectual living in gentile poverty in present day Tanzania; an English governor many years before independence; a boy -- possibly his illegitimate offspring -- growing up as an orphan, and several other stories as well. It is a fascinating tale of clashing cultures, in which people are at times able to transcend their origins, and at times hopelessly trapped by them.

It's not a thriller, and requires a little effort (though not a lot) to read. But it's a top notch story, that has generally been extremely well received. Read it and you'll see why.

I give it ***½ (out of ****).