Hiding in Plain Sight (novel)

Hiding in Plain Sight is a 2014 novel by Somali novelist Nuruddin Farah. The novel follows the experience of Bella in the wake of a terrorist attack that kills her brother, Aar, a Kenyan UN worker in Mogadishu.[1] After the death, Bella returns to Nairobi to help care for her brother's family. The ensuing conflict between Bella and her brother's widow becomes a central element of the novel.[1] Hiding in Plain Sight is Farah's twelfth novel.[2]

Background and context

The terrorist attack that starts the novel is very similar to the one that killed 20 at a UN compound in Somalia in 2013.[1] After Farrah submitted a first draft of the novel to his publisher, Farah's sister died in a terrorist attack in a Kabul restaurant similar to the events he had described written in his draft.[3][4]

While preparing for writing the novel, Farah had to learn how photography works, in order to accurately represent Bella's work as a photographer.[3]

Themes

When reviewing the novel for The New York Times, critic Laila Lalami noted two distinctive stylistic elements of the novel: first, like many of Farah's earlier novels, the novel is set during the midst of a country in rapid transition, Kenya, and thus explores the chaos of that change; and, second, the novel has a focus on grief. Lalami notes: "The rewards of reading Hiding in Plain Sight lie in Farah’s sensitive exploration of grief and his depiction of a family's love for one another."[1]

The Washington Post reviewer Ron Charles focus on the socio-political themes of the novel.[5] For Charles, the novel highlights many of the problems related to African prejudice for homosexuality, terrorism, familial relations, and the results of the African diaspora.[5] The Daily News critic Colin Devries described this discussion of socio-economic cultural issues as too obtuse, and at times "preachy".[6]

Style

The novel is written in the third person, often following Bella's perspective, but occasionally drifting to one of the other characters'.[1] The New York Times critic Laila Lalami describes the transitions between characters as "abrupt and ultimately jarring".[1]

The prose style of the novel received poor reception from a number of critics: The Washington Post critic Ron Charles called the prose "bland",[5] and The Guardian critic Claire Hazelton called it "poetic [...] but too often lacks imagination".[7]

Critical reception

Reception of the novel was mixed. The New York Times critic Laila Lalami largely praises the novel, describing its depiction of grief as the most rewarding part of the novel.[1] She writes: "Farah is particularly adept at evoking the way in which the sight of a familiar face or place can trigger painful memories."[1]

The Washington Post critic Ron Charles praises the novel's thematic interests, but "as an engaging novel, it's less successful".[5] He attributes this to both the "blandness of its prose" and the "plot's allergy to any sustained tension".[5] The Guardian similarly gave mixed reviews, noting the poor style, yet describing the plot as having "drama and direction" where Farah successfully represents "racial tensions and violence commonplace in many African cities".[7]

gollark: Computer science isn't software engineering, though. CS is meant to teach more theory-oriented stuff.
gollark: As in, you think the majority of them don't *ask* for it, or you think the majority don't need degree-related skills?
gollark: The entry-level desk job things will probably get increasingly automated away anyway.
gollark: I didn't say that that produces *good* outcomes for people involved.
gollark: Apparently the (or at least a) reason for this problem is that a degree works as a proxy for some minimum standard at stuff like being able to consistently do sometimes-boring things for 4 years, remember information and do things with it, and manage to go to class on time. So it's useful information regardless of whether the employer actually needs your specialized knowledge at all (in many cases, they apparently do not). And they're increasingly common, so *not* having one is an increasing red flag - you may have some sort of objection to the requirement for them, but that can't be distinguished from you just not being able to get one.

References
  1. Lalami, Laila (2014-11-21). "Nuruddin Farah's Hiding in Plain Sight". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  2. Kaye, Marcia (2014-10-26). "Twelfth novel by writer many say deserves a Nobel Prize takes a look at family ties and public violence". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781.
  3. Staff, N. P. R. "Novelist Nuruddin Farah: Facing A Blank Page Is 'Bravest Thing' A Writer Does". NPR.org.
  4. "JDI Press Release Death Of Basra Farah Hassan". waamonews. January 22, 2014. Archived from the original on February 26, 2014.
  5. Charles, Ron (2014-11-04). "Nuruddin Farah's "Hiding in Plain Sight" wrestles with grand political, social themes". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286.
  6. "REVIEW: Nuruddin Farah's 'Hiding in Plain Sight' delivers on storytelling with a clear message". NY Daily News.
  7. Hazelton, Claire (2015-07-10). "Hiding in Plain Sight by Nuruddin Farah review – the impact of terrorism on a family". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077.

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