Book
Links (2003) by Nuruddin Farah: a return to Mogadishu in the years of conflict
Links is a novel by the Somali writer Nuruddin Farah, first published in South Africa by Kwela Books in 2003 and in the United States by Riverhead in 2004. It follows Jeebleh, a Somali academic living in New York, who returns to Mogadishu after the fall of the military government and the US and UN intervention of the early 1990s, to visit his mother's grave and to find the missing niece of his old friend Bile. It is the first novel of Farah's Past Imperfect trilogy.
Links
- Author
- Nuruddin Farah
- Year
- 2003
- Publisher
- Kwela Books; Riverhead (US)
- Language
- English
- ISBN
- 9781573222655
- Sources
- 7 sources
The book
Links is a novel by 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; Kirkus Reviews).
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).
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; Rain Taxi). The history behind the setting is on The collapse, 1991 to 2000 and The UN intervention, 1992 to 1995.
Many chapters open with quotations from Dante's Divine Comedy, which frame Jeebleh's journey through the city as a descent (Kirkus Reviews).
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).
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).
- BookPage gave it a starred review (BookPage).
- 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).
- NPR discussed the novel with Farah on its release in 2004 (NPR).
Where to read it
- Lending copy: Internet Archive
- In a library: WorldCat
Related pages
Sources
- Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- Kirkus Reviews · kirkusreviews.com
- Rain Taxi · raintaxi.com
- BookPage · bookpage.com
- NPR · npr.org
- Internet Archive · archive.org
- WorldCat · search.worldcat.org
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Where this matters
Same era
- Australia18,401 people of Somali ancestry and 8,101 born in Somalia lived in Australia at the 2021 Census, more than half in Victoria. History, work, issues.
- Birmingham (Somali diaspora)About 17,000 to 21,600 Somalis live in Birmingham (Census 2021), mostly in Nechells, Newtown, Small Heath and Alum Rock. History, work, health and ties home.
- Bristol (Somali diaspora)9,167 people in Bristol identified as Somali or Somalilander in Census 2021, the city's largest minority group. Where they live, work, housing, leaders and ties home.
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada2,845 people of Somali origin lived in Calgary at the 2021 Census, plus 890 in Brooks. How they came, who serves them and what they face.
- Denmark (Somali diaspora)21,885 people of Somali origin lived in Denmark in 2026, half born there. Numbers, history, work, permit reviews, and ties home.
- DjiboutiAbout 13,900 refugees from Somalia live in Djibouti (Aug 2026): numbers since 1990, Ali Addeh, Holl-Holl, the 2017 refugee law, Arta 2000 and 2025 returns.
More by this author
- From a Crooked Rib (1970): Nuruddin Farah's first novelNuruddin Farah's From a Crooked Rib (1970): the story of Ebla, how it was written, the 1972 ban, how critics read it and its Somali translation Feedh Qalloocan.
- Maps (1986) by Nuruddin Farah: a novel of the Ogaden warNuruddin Farah's Maps (1986): Askar, Misra and the Ogaden war, its unusual narrative voice, the Blood in the Sun trilogy and how critics have read it.
- Sweet and Sour Milk (1979) by Nuruddin Farah: a novel of Mogadishu under dictatorshipNuruddin Farah's Sweet and Sour Milk (1979): its story of twin brothers in 1970s Mogadishu, its place in his dictatorship trilogy, its award and where to read it.
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