When the stories one is told conflict with the world one knows, what other choice is there but to seek out other stories? Stories that could make sense of a senseless world. These two sentences came midway in Moses Ose Utomi’s last installment of his novella trilogy,...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 169: Mbaqanga Nights by Leonora Meriel
by MHill | Aug 8, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Fiction about Artists, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom From Kammbia Novella Review
Two Jewish brothers emigrated from Ukraine to South Africa in the 1800s to find a better life. The grandson of one brother opened a mixed-race jazz club in South Africa during apartheid. Mbaqanga Nights told the story of how the grandson managed South African politics...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 167: The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle
by MHill | Jul 26, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Magical Realism, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom From Kammbia Novella Review
One thing I have learned in the last few years of reading, that first impressions of a novel are not always accurate. Sometimes a second impression can give a novel a better chance of being read than the initial impression. This is the case for The Ballad of Black Tom...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 154: The Miracle Cures of Dr. Aira by Cesar Aira
by MHill | Oct 25, 2024 | 2024 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom From Kammbia Novella Review
Nowadays, it’s much more tempting for readers to reach for a new book they just bought rather than the ones that have been collecting dust on their bookshelves for months or even a year or two. Those books on your shelf end up becoming de facto furniture than actually...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 146: The Truth of the Aleke by Moses Ose Utomi
by MHill | Jun 18, 2024 | 2024 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Moses Ose Utomi, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom From Kammbia Novella Review
"History is only a story, told by those with power to justify why they have it. The truth does not bend to power's whims." These words came near the end of The Truth of the Aleke by Moses Ose Utomi. It is the follow-up novella to the excellent The Lies of the Ajungo I...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 145: The Lies of The Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi
by MHill | Jun 12, 2024 | 2024 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Moses Ose Utomi, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom From Kammbia Novella Review
When you have been taught lies, what do you believe in? Is it preferable to lie in order to safeguard society from the truth? Both questions get answered in The Lies of the Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi. I came across this novella from the Goodreads recommendations...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 143: The Locked Room (New York Trilogy #3) by Paul Auster
by MHill | May 22, 2024 | 2024 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Paul Auster, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom From Kammbia Novella Review
Can you find your true self in living out your best friend's wishes? The narrator of The Locked Room, the last novel in Paul Auster’s innovative New York Trilogy, attempts to answer that question. A man named Fanshawe has gone missing, leaving his wife, child, and a...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 142: Ghosts (New York Trilogy #2) by Paul Auster
by MHill | May 19, 2024 | 2024 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Paul Auster, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom From Kammbia Novella Review
Ghosts is the second novel in Paul Auster's innovative New York Trilogy. As a tribute, I've decided to revisit his most celebrated work and share my impressions after three decades later after since my initial reading. Blue, a private detective, has been commissioned...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 141: City of Glass (New York Trilogy #1) by Paul Auster
by MHill | May 17, 2024 | 2024 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Paul Auster, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom From Kammbia Novella Review
I found out last week that celebrated author Paul Auster passed away at the age of 77. In my previous blog post, I expressed my appreciation for his stories and paid my respects. As a result, I wanted to reread his most famous body of work, The New York Trilogy, in...
Wisdom From Kammbia Review 128: The Death of Doctor Island by Gene Wolfe
by MHill | Aug 27, 2023 | 2023 Book Reviews, Gene Wolfe, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom From Kammbia Novella Review
Gene Wolfe is one of my favorite authors. However, I did not come to his work through his magnum opus, The Book of New Sun. I've started with some of his standalone novels, like Pirate Freedom and The Land Across. Also, I've read the first book of some of his series...