Black Mamba Boy

By: Nadifa Mohamed

Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly

Yemen, 1935.

Jama is a half-feral child scavenging with his friends in the dusty streets of a great seaport. For Jama, life is a carnival, at least when he can fill his belly. When his mother dies young, she leaves him only an amulet stuffed with one hundred rupees. Jama decides to spend her life's meager savings to search for his missing father, rumored to be a driver for the British in the north.

So begins Jama's extraordinary journey of more than a thousand miles to Egypt. He slings himself from one perilous city to another, fiercely enjoying life on the road and relying on his vast clan network to shelter him and point the way to his father, who always seems just out of reach.

In his travels, Jama will witness scenes of great humanity and brutality; he will be caught up in the indifferent, grinding machine of war; he will crisscross the Red Sea in search of working papers and a ship.

©2010 Nadifa Mohamed (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“[A] beautifully rendered debut….Jama is a charming protagonist whose peregrinations—assisted by clansmen, kind strangers, and ghostly visitations—are directed more by historical and biographical significance than by the demands of plot. Mohamed vividly recreates the complex atmosphere of the era, and her personal investment in the story gives it a passionate edge." ( Publishers Weekly)

“An accomplished first novel.” ( Independent, London)

Good Book

A coming of age book for young Jama. Jama is a roughen living on the streets of Africa trying to survive. His father has abandoned him, he has same from his family and the community. The only thing he has is his mother until she dies. At the age of 11, he starts his trek to Egypt to find his father. With the help of clansmen and benevolent people, he spends years on the road making his way and discovering the man he will become. During WWII and the invasion of the Italians and Germans, he is forced into fighting a white man’s war and experiences many horrors.

Trigger warnings: strong language, graphic content including wartime atrocities, abuse, violence and racism.

More than five stars

A powerful story teller coupled with stellar narration makes for a book that I didn’t want to end. After a life of happiness always being out of his reach I kept hoping for a beautiful ending for Jama.

LOVE the book, performance OK

This is one of my favorite books. I’ve read and listened to it many times. The performance is fine, but I would greatly prefer a narrator who speaks Somali. If an interest in Somali language or culture is a reason you were compelled to listen to this book, you will be disappointed by the pronunciation of Somali words and names from this narrator, though it seems he tried his best.

Why!!?

It's not allowing me to download this isn't right
And I'm looking for the answers to the discussion questions and I can't find them!