Other Side Of Truth (Paperback)

African born Beverley Naidoo was forced into exile in 1965 as a student. Her first book, Journey to Jo'Burg: A South African Story, published in 1985 was banned in South Africa. She has explored the lingering effects of racial hatred in her novels Chain of Fire and No Turning Back and in her short fiction collection, Out of Bounds. Her novel, The Other Side of Truth, won the presitigious Carnegie Medal.
The Other Side of Truth begins with a shocking murder witnessed by twelve-year-old Sade Solaja and her ten-year-old brother Femi. Government soldiers shoot down their mother in retaliation for their journalist father's outspoken criticisms of the Nigerian government. Folarin Solaja has remained vocal even in the wake of the trial and execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa. But now, with his wife's murder, and fearing for his children's well-being and continued safety, he decides that he has to get them out of Nigeria as quickly as possible. He won't be silenced-"The truth is the truth. How can I write about what's untrue?" he argues-but neither is willing to let the Brass Buttons, the generals who control Nigeria, murder his children.
Smuggled to London, the plan is for the children to take refuge with their uncle, a teacher at the London College of Art, and wait until their father manages to leave the country. But the best-laid plans go astray-Uncle Dele has mysteriously disappeared and Sade and Femi find themselves abandoned and on the streets of London, without money or any other contacts, and afraid to say anything about their father for fear that the Brass Buttons will imprison him. And while the children find refuge in the foster care system, they have no way of knowing what has happened to their father and whether or not he has managed to leave Nigeria.
Naidoo takes readers right into the heart of the children's plight, telling it like it is. Naidoo makes sure that readers know where things stand, weaving the political turmoil into the story's narrative, exposing the brutality and viciousness of the army generals who control Nigeria. It's a story haunted by the murder of Ken Saro-Wiwa but this isn't his story. It's Sade's story and Femi's-victims who don't normally have the chance to make their voices heard in the political conflict. But Naidoo adds a delicious twist here-Sade and Femi get a chance to speak out to tell the other side of truth, the side that lies behind those "truths" spun by repressive governments and it has a stunning impact on their lives and on the life of their father. Jeffrey Canton (Books in Canada) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Sade, the 12-year-old protagonist of Naidoo's sophisticated and emotional novel, must flee her native Nigeria with her younger brother after their mother is killed in a shooting. Their father, a muckraking journalist in trouble with the military government, was the target. Sade and 10-year-old Femi soon find themselves stranded in London, abandoned by the woman paid to smuggle them into the country, and at the mercy of mostly friendly, but foreign government agencies, foster families and teachers. Her father finally surfaces in England, only to be detained for illegally emigrating. Sade must learn quickly how to fight for what she holds dear, including her father's safety. The inclusion of real facts about African countries, such as the government's execution of Nigerian activist writer Ken Saro-Wiwa, makes Naidoo's story more poignant, while the immediacy of the parallel story, in which Sade must deal with similar obstacles on a smaller scale (e.g., powerful school gangs), makes the novel more accessible. Fashbacks, letters written between father and daughter, and Sade's constant memories of her mother's sayings, add texture. Readers may be challenged by some of the British English, but they will find it easy to understand Sade's joy at reuniting with her father in prison, and likely find her determination exhilarating. Ages 10-up.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Library Binding edition.