Rating: 
Summary: African adventure at it's best
Review: The author was nurtured on stories of his grandfather’s trials and tribulations as a young immigrant to Africa and his subsequent rise to political fame. His curiosity led him to painstaking research of his grandfather's journals as well as the research notes left by his father. This resulted in the riveting African historical saga , a homage to the resilient spirit of his grandfather, Mehar Singh Dhillon.Kijabe is a small village just off the road from Nairobi to Nakuru, in Kenya, one of the countries in East Africa. Mehar Singh arrived in Mombasa in a dhow in March 1916. He was instantly awed by the raw beauty of Africa as he inhaled the intoxicating scents of the vast scenic African landscape. But he soon learnt that beauty exacts its price. He experienced the harsh realities as he began his journey in the hinterland- the hot sweltering African sun, the scorching red dust, anthills, thorny bushes, wild animals, the killer tse-tse flies, swarming malarious mosquitoes, tropical diseases and death. Mehar Singh was persuaded by his friend, a British District Commissioner to jump into politics as by now he was very popular among Africans and also articulate in African dialects. He got elected as a Member of Parliament and later as a Secretary of the powerful political party, Kenya African National Union, reporting directly to the President of Kenya, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. The computer savvy author invites interested readers to visit his fascinating website, www.kijabe.com
Rating:
Summary: Independent Publisher Online
Review: To portray the issues and crises of a Diaspora culture in East Africa is one thing, but to write about them using the tools of various genres is quite another. Pally Dhillon has written a story about the clash of divergent cultures, of diametrically opposed religious beliefs, of the political and social struggles of a man who journeyed across the Indian Ocean to help build a life, a family, and a society. Kijabe is an impressive effort. Borrowing devices from popular genres--from murder mysteries and love stories, from political thrillers and the well-known rags-to-riches motif--Dhillon tells the story of his grandfather, a poor Sikh emigrant who went to Kenya to work for the railroad industry, operated by the British at the beginning of the twentieth century. This is the same man who became one of Kenya¹s most powerful political figures, and whose mysterious death serves as the beginning of the book. Kijabe is the fictional account of Dhillon¹s life-long research into the life of his ancestor. The history and culture underscoring the narrative greatly enrich the reader¹s experience and keep the story from falling into the trappings of genre fiction. But at the same time, the aspects of genre writing keep the story from becoming mired in its own attempt at historical accuracy. Though this is Dhillon's first novel, it would be difficult to discern from the text. He writes with clarity and ease, with strength and power. Substantial portions of the book are devoted to the journals of his family's patriarch, but not to the extent that one voice dominates the tale. The complexity of the story requires a glossary of terms and an Appendix of Characters at the end to assist the reader¹s enjoyment. A small explanation of the nature of Sikhism and a concise history of Kenya reside at the end as well. For those who enjoy reading about the histories of far-away places, genealogy, sex, murder, and corruption, Kijabe is a book worth reading. John Stoehr
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