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<\/a><\/span><\/p>\nReview of: More Matata — Love After the Mau Mau<\/i> by Braz Menezes<\/strong> \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Review of: More Matata — Love After the Mau Mau by Braz Menezes by Judy Luis-Watson jluiswatson55@gmail.com \u00a0 If you are looking for a book to take you places, Braz Menezes does not disappoint.\u00a0 In *More Matata \u2013 Love After the Mau Mau*, he documents and fictionalizes experiences during the 1950s and early ’60s in … Continue reading Telling the truth about Africa – Braz Menezes<\/span>
\n by Judy Luis-Watson<\/strong>
\n jluiswatson55@gmail.com<\/strong>
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\nIf you are looking for a book to take you places, Braz
\nMenezes does not disappoint.\u00a0 <\/span>In *More Matata \u2013 Love After
\nthe Mau Mau*, he documents and fictionalizes experiences
\nduring the 1950s and early ’60s in Kenya.\u00a0 <\/span>And, for a change,
\nKenyan Indians including Goans are not just peripheral to the
\nstory, they are at the center of it.
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\nLike Peter Nazareth who speaks the truth about Idi Amin’s reign of terror in Uganda in *The General is Up<\/i>*, Braz does not shy away from difficult topics.
\nRight away, in the Prologue, the reader is drawn into the 2008 Presidential election in the U.S.
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\nOld friends Lando, and Saboti of mixed race like Obama,
\nconnect across the oceans by telephone as they follow the
\nelection.\u00a0 <\/span>Their excitement is palpable.\u00a0 <\/span>Even as time has
\ngone by, their love cut short because of racial barriers
\nstill feels raw.
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\nThis love story provokes deeper thinking about cultural norms
\nand tradition.\u00a0 <\/span>Since their relationship must be kept secret,
\ntheir rendezvous offers excitement and hope. It also builds
\ncompassion for people like them who dare to spread their
\nwings and fly. A feeling of dark clouds gathering adds to
\nthe suspense.
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\nThe author uses clever humor to shine a light on the murky
\nshadows of Kenya during the Mau Mau period.\u00a0 <\/span>Lando thinks
\nabout how people he knows have disappeared at the hands of
\nthe colonial government and wonders, “Do the people in
\ngovernment responsible for these crimes ever confess?\u00a0 <\/span>I
\nsmile at the thought of the whole government lining up for
\nconfessions….”
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\nI was surprised to learn of the effect President Kennedy’s
\nassassination had in Kenya.\u00a0 <\/span>Braz Menezes explained that
\npeople of every faith and race organized religious services,
\nand sports events were canceled.\u00a0 <\/span>The Voice of Kenya (VOK)
\nalso canceled most programs and for the next two days relayed
\nnews from BBC and VOA (Voice of America).\u00a0 <\/span>Because President
\nKennedy “inspired hope and held so much promise,” the death
\nof the first U.S. Catholic president was devastating to the
\nCatholic Goan community in Kenya.
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\nMore Matata can stand on its own, but for the full experience
\nbegin the adventure with Just Matata, the first book in the
\ntrilogy.\u00a0 <\/span>I’m looking forward to the third book and hope Braz
\nplans to publish even more!
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\n*More Matata<\/i>* is available worldwide on Amazon and in ebook
\n(Kindle) and in Toronto, directly from the author
\nbmenezes@sympatico.ca
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\n—
\nJudy Luis-Watson (jluiswatson55@gmail.com) is based in Bowie,
\nMaryland. Besides writing, she is into the blues, jazz and world rhythms. She
\ngrew up in East Africa.<\/span><\/p>\n