July 1: The House of Rust by Khadija Abdalla Bajaber

July 1, Friday
12pm New York  |  5pm London | 7pm Mombasa

Friendly discussion about the novel, The House of Rust. The writer Khadjia Abdalla Bajaber will join us for the final half hour to chat with participants. Published by Graywolf Press.

Discussion hosted by Meg Arenberg

Remember to:

a. Get yourself a copy of the book! (Click here to purchase the book online) 

b. Read the book before the meeting! (No one is checking if you've finished the book, but you will get the most out of the club and the chat with the author if you read ahead.)

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About the book
The House of Rust is an enchanting novel about a Hadhrami girl in Mombasa, Kenya. When her fisherman father goes missing, Aisha takes to the sea on a magical boat made of a skeleton to rescue him. She is guided by a talking scholar’s cat (and soon crows, goats, and other animals all have their say, too). On this journey Aisha meets three terrifying sea monsters. After she survives a final confrontation with Baba wa Papa, the father of all sharks, she rescues her own father, and hopes that life will return to normal. But at home, things only grow stranger. Khadija Abdalla Bajaber’s debut is a fabulist coming-of-age tale told through the lens of the Swahili and diasporic Hadhrami culture in Mombasa, Kenya. Richly descriptive and written with an imaginative hand and sharp eye for unusual detail, The House of Rust is a memorable novel by a thrilling new voice.

About the author
Khadija Abdalla Bajaber is a Mombasarian writer of Hadhrami descent and the winner of the inaugural Graywolf Press African Fiction Prize. Her work has appeared in Enkare Review, Lolwe, and Down River Road among other places. She lives in Mombasa, Kenya.

About the host
Meg Arenberg is a writer, scholar, and translator from Swahili into English. She is the managing director of the Radical Books Collective. 

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