The Book of Secrets A Novel

In 1988, a retired schoolteacher named Pius Fernandes receives an old diary found in the back room of an East African shop. Written in 1913 by a British colonial administrator, the diary captivates Fernandes, who begins to research the coded history he encounters in its terse, laconic entries. What he uncovers is a story of forbidden liaisons and simmering vengeances, family secrets and cultural exiles--a story that leads him on an investigative journey through his own past and Africa's. M. G. Vassanjiwas born in Kenya and raised in Tanzania. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was writer-in-residence at the University of Iowa in the International Writing Program. He is the author of several books, includingAmriikaandNo New Land. He is the winner of the Giller Prize, the Bressani Literary Prize, the Regional Commonwealth Prize, and the Harbourfront Festival Prize. He lives in Toronto. In 1988, a retired schoolteacher named Pius Fernandes receives an old diary found in the back room of an East African shop. Written in 1913 by a British colonial administrator, the diary captivates Fernandes, who begins to research the coded history he encounters in its terse, laconic entries. What he uncovers is a story of forbidden liaisons and simmering vengeances, family secrets and cultural exilesa story that leads him on an investigative journey through his own past and Africa's. "Rich . . . wonderful . . . entertaining . . . a celebration of storytelling."David Willis McCullough,The New York Times Book Review "A love affair with the past . . . [an] exquisite, tender, and possibly great novel."The New Yorker "Well-written, mulit-layered, and teasingly inconclusive . . . Offers a view of an area seldom treated in fiction.The Atlantic Monthly

M. G. Vassanji was born in Kenya and raised in Tanzania. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was writer-in-residence at the University of Iowa in the International Writing Program. He is the winner of the Giller Prize, the Bressani Literary Prize, the Regional Commonwealth Prize, and the Harbourfront Festival Prize. He lives in Toronto.

"Rich . . . wonderful . . . entertaining . . . a celebration of storytelling." --David Willis McCullough, The New York Times Book Review

"A love affair with the past . . . [an] exquisite, tender, and possibly great novel." --The New Yorker

"Well-written, mulit-layered, and teasingly inconclusive . . . Offers a view of an area seldom treated in fiction. --The Atlantic Monthly