The Book of Secrets by M. G. Vassanji
"The Book of Secrets" by M. G. Vassanji is a narrative that intertwines personal histories and colonial legacies set against the backdrop of East Africa in the early 20th century. The story begins in 1988 with Pius Fernandes, a retired Indian schoolteacher in Dar es Salaam, who embarks on a reflective journey inspired by an old diary belonging to Alfred Corbin, a British colonial officer. Through the diary, readers are introduced to Nurmohamed Pipa, an Indian shopkeeper, and his betrothed, Mariamu, whose lives become entangled with Corbin and other characters during a period of political strife and cultural tension, including World War I.
As the narrative unfolds, themes of identity, displacement, and the complexities of colonial relationships emerge. The diary reveals Pipa's struggles with his marriage and the societal pressures he faces, as well as Corbin's evolving perceptions of the local Indian community. The characters navigate a world shaped by colonialism, where personal and communal histories collide, leading to profound consequences that ripple through generations. The story ultimately reflects on the nature of memory, secrecy, and the unravelling of truths that define the lives of those connected to Pipa and Mariamu.
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Subject Terms
The Book of Secrets by M. G. Vassanji
- Born: May 30, 1950
- Birthplace: Nairobi, Kenya
First published: 1994
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Historical
Time of plot: 1913–1988
Locale: Kikono, British East Africa (fictional); Dar es Salaam and Moshi, contemporary Tanzania; London, United Kingdom
Principal Characters
Nurmohamed Pipa, an Indian shopkeeper born and living in East Africa
Mariamu, a young Indian woman betrothed to Pipa
Akber "Aku" Ali, Mariamu’s son, later known as Ali
Alfred Corbin, a British colonial officer serving in East Africa
Pius Fernandes, the narrator, an Indian teacher in Dar es Salaam
Gulnar "Rita" Rajani, a teenage Indian woman from Dar es Salaam
Frank Maynard, a British soldier in East Africa
Richard Gregory, a British teacher in Dar es Salaam
The Story
The plot begins in July 1988 as the narrator, Pius Fernandes, a retired Asian Indian schoolteacher in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, reflects on his private history project. It began that March, when a former student of his, Feroz, introduced him to an old diary from 1913. The diary belongs to Alfred Corbin, a British colonial officer; Feroz found it in his shoe shop, which was formerly owned by Nurmohamed Pipa.
For March 1, 1913, Corbin records sighting Mombasa, British East Africa, contemporary Kenya. In Mombasa, Corbin meets the harsh, experienced British captain Frank Maynard. Young Corbin is appointed assistant district commissioner of the small fictional town of Kikono in British East Africa. Kikono lies close to German East Africa, contemporary Tanzania.
Kikono is populated by Indian Muslim immigrants and their descendants. There is a Christian mission church with African converts. In October, a young Indian man from Moshi in German East Africa arrives at a festival in Kikono to meet his betrothed. His given name is Nurmohamed, and his family’s nickname is Pipa, or barrel. His bride is a young Indian woman, Mariamu. Pipa is arrested by Corbin following an altercation at the post office. Mariamu and her uncle Jamali, the local Indian leader, obtain Pipa’s release.
In May 1914, Corbin intervenes when Mariamu is illegally whipped during an exorcism rite. He sends Mariamu to the mission church. Jamali asks for Mariamu’s return. Reluctantly, Corbin agrees to let Mariamu decide. She returns to Jamali and her stepfather, Rashid.
To get Mariamu away from Rashid, Jamali suggests that she cook for Corbin until her marriage. Corbin agrees. He and Mariamu grow closer, and she nurses him during a fever in June.
When Pipa returns in July, he is married to Mariamu. On their wedding night, Pipa accuses Mariamu of being an unchaste bride; Rashid accuses her of having a sexual relationship with Corbin, which Corbin denies. World War I breaks out, and Great Britain declares war against Germany in August 1914. At this point, Corbin’s diary breaks off.
In April 1988 Fernandes meets the grandson of Mariamu’s uncle Jamali in Moshi. The wedding night fiasco is retold from Pipa’s point of view. Pipa reconciles with Mariamu. World War I prevents him from leaving for Moshi. Captain Maynard appears to lead a spy ring and presses Pipa into service. Corbin is ordered out of Kikono for a new assignment.
Pipa’s personal background is revealed. In April 1915, about nine months after his and Mariamu’s wedding, their son, Akber "Aku" Ali, is born. He has fair skin and gray eyes. Pipa doubts his paternity. The Germans make Pipa their agent. Maynard arrests Pipa. When Pipa is released he finds that Mariamu has been raped and murdered. She is buried quickly. Pipa finds Corbin’s diary, which Mariamu stole shortly after her wedding. He cannot read it but takes it with him.
In April 1988, Fernandes learns that his former pupil and Pipa’s daughter-in-law, Gulnar "Rita" Rajani, will see him. In 1916, when Britain captures Moshi, Pipa returns there, leaving Aku with Jamali. Pipa remarries and moves to Dar es Salaam. After the war, Jamali moves to Moshi, where Aku is raised by his wife, Khanoum. When Jamali dies, Khanoum falls on hard times. Still a child, Aku works as garden helper for Anne Corbin, the wife of the new district commissioner, Alfred Corbin. Corbin learns that Aku is Mariamu’s son. He offers Khanoum help raising him, but she refuses his offer.
In 1923 Pipa’s relatives bring Aku to Dar es Salaam to be with his father and his new wife, Remti. Pipa builds a shrine to Mariamu’s memory, where he places Corbin’s diary. Aku writes down Mariamu, and Pipa finds this word in Corbin’s diary. At twenty-three, Aku becomes known as Ali. Ali marries into a rich local Indian family but has no children. He distances himself from Pipa. The police raid Pipa’s shrine but fail to find the diary.
In May 1988, Rita arrives in Tanzania to meet with her former teacher, Fernandes. Fernandes reflects on his life. A young Christian, he emigrates from India in 1947 to teach in British Africa. In November 1950, he teaches English at two Indian schools in Dar es Salaam. He befriends Richard Gregory, a British teacher. One of Fernandes’s pupils is Rita, or Gulnar Rajani. Rita elopes to London with the dashing Ali. Ali divorces his wife and then marries Rita. Fernandes sees her there once in 1960 without speaking to her. Pipa’s young son Amin dies from fever. Ali meets Pipa but the content of their talk is not revealed.
In May 1988, Rita tells Fernandes of her life with Ali in London. They go through hard times initially but have a daughter and son and eventually become successful before their marriage fails and they divorce. Rita suspects that Rashid raped and killed Mariamu. In the 1960s, Ali and Rita meet Corbin once at a social function. Pipa dies in 1972.
Rita asks Fernandes to give her Corbin’s diary and keep forever silent about it. Fernandes agrees. He remembers Gregory, who dies of ill health in 1971. Looking at Gregory’s papers, which were left to him, Fernandes discovers that Gregory knew Alfred and Anne Corbin. In 1935 Alfred writes to Gregory about a fresh clue regarding the raid on Pipa’s store. In 1965 Anne writes that after Alfred meets Ali at a London function, they meet again in private; she does not know what the two men discussed.
In August 1988 Fernandes writes that the father of Mariamu’s son will remain unknown. He hands his research materials over to Rita and becomes a teacher at a private school.
Bibliography
Casey, Allan. "Something Like the Truth." Books in Canada 23.5 (1994): 34–37. Print.
Genetsch, Martin. "’There:’ Transforming Difference. The Book of Secrets (1994)." The Texture of Identity. Toronto: TSAR, 2007: 41–68. Print.
Ndlovu, Isaac. "Gender, the Subaltern and the ‘Construction of Silence’ in M. G. Vassanji’s The Gunny Sack and The Book of Secrets." English Studies in Africa 56.2 (2013): 84–97. Print.
Ojwang, Dan. "Exile and Estrangement in East African Indian Fiction." Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East 32.3 (2012): 523–42. Print.
Rhodes, Shane. "Frontier Fiction: Reading Books in M. G. Vassanji’s The Book of Secrets." ARIEL 29.1 (1998): 179–93. Print.