The In-Between World of Vikram Lall by M. G. Vassanji

I was always under the impression that Kenya had its "act together" for the most part, at least compared to its region and continent. While such things are certainly relative, it is clear from The In-Between World of Vikram Lall that Kenya hasn't lived up to its promise. The book is a Giller Prize winner, so I had high expectations for it. How well did the book live up to its promise?

On the first page of the novel, we learn that Vikam Lall is presently secluding himself in a nice house on the shores of Lake Ontario. He is intentionally far away from his native Kenya, where he heads his country's "List of Shame", having been accused of bilking millions of dollars from the country's treasury. He claims to be an "ordinary", "moderate" man, and never had any intentions of embarking on the career he found himself on. The book tells Lall's story and how he found himself in his current situation.

He was born in Kenya in 1945, the grandson of a Punjabi who came to East Africa to work on the railroads and then stayed. (Vassanji, the author, was born in Tanzania.) Despite being a third-generation Kenyan, Lall always has a sense of not-belonging. His family, and his ethnic group, form a middle class between the "native" Kenyans and the British colonizers, fully belonging to neither group.

After the brief introduction, the year is 1953, the year of Elizabeth II's coronation, and Vikram is 8. Despite threats to security posed by groups such as the Mau Mau, many believe the country to be British, and to remain that way for a long time. Vikram's family life is explored, especially his relationship with his sister Deepa and their friend Njoroge, who is a member of the Kikuyu tribe.

Flash forward to 1965. Kenya is independent, Deepa, Njoroge, and Vikram are young adults, and the world holds nothing but promise for each of them and their country. As time goes on, we see how life doesn't always go as one would like, and how each deal with the situation that they find themselves in.

Vic finds himself involved higher and higher (or perhaps deeper and deeper) in the Kenyan government, eventually having the ear of none other than President Jomo Kenyatta himself. As the system is corrupt, Lall certainly takes his slice of the pie.

Ngoroge, too, becomes involved in the government. Their paths make for an interesting contrast.

As I mentioned, I had high expectations for this book. It was very interesting to read about life in Kenya, as well as to consider the people of Indian ancestry living there. However, as a personally trait, the main character was mostly lacking passion. That seemed to show up perhaps too well in the writing -- while there was nothing "wrong" with it, it seemed to lack a certain "spark". All-in-all, though, these things are relative. While I can't give it my highest rating, I still recommend it. Four stars out of five.

And, I'm tempted to deduct a star because M. G. Vassanji apparently never learned how to use a quotation mark, but I won't.