The Red Moon. (fiction reviews).

The Red Moon by Kuwana Haulsey Villard, August 2001, $22.95 ISBN 0-375-50557-1

"To me ... the red moon is death." Kuwana Hausley crafts an emotive coming-of-age story. The protagonist, Nasarian, is a woman born to a Samburu man by his Somali war bride--his fourth wife--in contemporary Kenya. The red moon is woven throughout the story as a symbol of both death and, in the end, life.

Upon the loss of her father, followed by her mother's death six months later, Nasarian moves with the rest of her family to the household of her oldest brother, Lolorak. Nasarian's interest in education makes her unfit to obtain a large brideprice, and she is sent to a cousin where she will care for his daughter and study for her A-level examinations. The tender amity that Nasarian develops with her younger cousin, Nasieku, is the novel's most thought-provoking contribution. Nasieku's early circumcision, arranged marriage and contraction of the AIDS virus suggest the selfish greed of those who hold power over those they are bound to protect.

The novel is an excellent introduction for Americans interested in today's East African society. The author weaves together many issues affecting young women on the continent in a manner that does not surrender to cultural relativism or simplify the politics of various societies within Kenya to backwards ignorance. The depiction of Nasarian as a "half-caste" provides a window into the tension between Somali and northwestern Kenyan groups. Hausley does this without overstating the concept of "ethnic warfare" in today's Africa.

Though disjointed in places, Hausley will encourage readers to rethink notions of African identity and understand the challenges that individuals, particularly young women, face in creating a sense of themselves.

Wilmetta J. Toliver, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of African History and Director of the African and African Diaspora Studies Program at Bard College in upstate New York.