Anyone who is in a book club understands how great it feels to be in a space with other bookworms and steadfast readers. My book club consists of 10 amazing women and it is awesome! Each month, we select a book to read and discuss when we meet, and this month we are reading Digital Bedbugs, a collection of 12 short stories, across different genres, by new and emerging African writers.
Above all things, these stories are familiar. You know the thugs who rob us when they call us with voices that hypnotize the most sober person? And for the Nairobi-folk, you may be familiar with the road near Mater Hospital – but have you ever imagined what could happen if you randomly drove by there at night? Then the rural settings with homesteads, traditional furnaces, chicken running around, and, well, night runners! The common Geisha soap; the Toyota Probox… the list is endless.
Digital Bedbugs has nuances that I can relate to, whether it’s being scammed through M-PESA, or your man’s pal who always takes advantage of him yet he doesn’t seem to notice, to the choices we make in our lives when we realise we cannot live without the luxury that our husband provides – even when he is unavailable most times. It’s these familiarities, the relatability of these narratives, that made this book an enjoyable read. All Kenyans, heck, Africans should read it. It is familiar.
It was also an eye opener to some of the things that I did not know or imagine could happen. Have you ever considered that maybe the cab driver shuttling you to the airport and engaging you in subtle conversation about where you are going, for how long – is probably acquiring information so that he can go and stay in your house while you are away? There were some stories with shocking closures and there were some that gave insights – albeit fictional – on historical events like the riveting Mau Mau era.
Then, there’s the new words I learnt; the most memorable being ‘lepidopterist’ (Google it!). The book evoked mixed emotions: I laughed, I cried, I was angry and upset, I was scared, but I could not stop reading, not until I turned the last page. And if I was to describe the book in one word, I’d say it was mind-boggling.
Digital Bedbugs is the output of a Nairobi-based Fiction Writing Workshop led by the 2018 Caine Prize for African Writing winner, Makena Onjerika. Makena is one of four Kenyans who has won this literary award since it was launched in 2000.
This is a great book with stories from talented writers and is available in most book stores and online via Rafu Books. I am now committed to reading more African books and seek African writers because we are truly gifted.
After the book, I was itching to know about the author that put it together, and so I googled Makena. Her personal story impressed me even more. She started writing when she was 15 and studied Economics at Amherst College in the USA. She is also a graduate of New York University’s Creative Writing Program. All that’s left is for me to meet her and introduce her to my son, nieces, and nephews.
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Fawzia Ali is a mum, a sister, an auntie, a friend. She enjoys long walks, good food, reading, listening to jazz, watching movies, participating in social work (a member of Rotary Club of Lavington Jioni and a Trustee of the Safaricom Foundation), and is curious to expand her knowledge on digital channels, content, e-commerce, and digital marketing to name a few. She is a budding golfer who loves being in the company of family and friends.