# Links (2003) by Nuruddin Farah: a return to Mogadishu in the years of conflict

> Nuruddin Farah's Links (2003): its story of a return to Mogadishu in the 1990s, the Dante quotations that frame it, its trilogy, and how reviewers received it.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/books/links-farah/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## The book

**Links** is a novel by **[Nuruddin Farah](/en/people/nuruddin-farah/)**, the Somali writer born in Baidoa in 1945 who won the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 1998. It was first published in Cape Town by Kwela Books in 2003, and in the United States by Riverhead on 1 April 2004, with 352 pages ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuruddin_Farah); [Kirkus Reviews](https://kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/nuruddin-farah/links)).

## The story

The novel is set in Mogadishu after the fall of the military government in 1991 and after the US and UN intervention of the early 1990s, when the city was divided between rival armed factions. **Jeebleh**, a Somali academic who had once been a political prisoner and now lives in New York with his American wife, returns to the city to visit his mother's grave and settle her affairs ([Kirkus Reviews](https://kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/nuruddin-farah/links)).

He goes to find his old friend **Bile**, a former fellow prisoner who now runs a refuge for children who have lost their families. When Bile's niece **Raasta** and her friend **Makka** disappear, Jeebleh suspects Bile's half-brother **Caloosha**, who had been their jailer under the old government. Moving through a city where young gunmen shoot at people near the airport, Jeebleh tries to learn the truth about his mother's death and decides that he must act against those pursuing him ([Kirkus Reviews](https://kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/nuruddin-farah/links); [Rain Taxi](https://raintaxi.com/links-farah/)). The history behind the setting is on [The collapse, 1991 to 2000](/en/history/collapse-1991-2000/) and [The UN intervention, 1992 to 1995](/en/history/un-intervention-1992-1995/).

Many chapters open with quotations from Dante's *Divine Comedy*, which frame Jeebleh's journey through the city as a descent ([Kirkus Reviews](https://kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/nuruddin-farah/links)).

## The trilogy

*Links* is the first novel of Farah's **Past Imperfect** trilogy, followed by *Knots* (2007) and *Crossbones* (2011). The three novels follow Somalis who return from the diaspora to a country changed by war ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuruddin_Farah)).

## How it was received

- Kirkus Reviews called it "a masterful tale" and "a searing portrait" of the city, written by "one of her most distinguished writers", meaning Africa's ([Kirkus Reviews](https://kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/nuruddin-farah/links)).
- BookPage gave it a starred review ([BookPage](https://bookpage.com/?p=111282)).
- A review in Rain Taxi described it as a slow book that relies more on revelation than on plot, and well worth the effort ([Rain Taxi](https://raintaxi.com/links-farah/)).
- NPR discussed the novel with Farah on its release in 2004 ([NPR](https://www.npr.org/2004/04/20/1844730/links-tells-somalias-tales)).

## Where to read it

- Lending copy: [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/links00fara)
- In a library: [WorldCat](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Links+Nuruddin+Farah)

## Related pages

- [Sweet and Sour Milk (1979), Nuruddin Farah](/en/books/sweet-and-sour-milk-farah/)
- [Maps (1986), Nuruddin Farah](/en/books/maps-farah/)
- [Books about Somalis since 2006](/en/history/books-about-somalis-since-2006/)

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