The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo

I picked up this book based solely on the setting of Namibia. I was simply looking to read some contemporary African fiction. I loved the book. Cleverly written. Orner did a terrific job capturing the sense of place. I could feel the heat and dust as I read. He was able to tell a great tale, very well researched, with good humour. While touching throghout, I found myself laughing at many scenes. Nice job! Go get it and enjoy it.

I had high hopes for The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo as I loved Orner's first book, Esther Stories. This novel did not disappoint. It's a love story, but set in the remote veld of Namibia, it is also offers astute political commentary and a glimpse at history that few Americans will learn about in school. Orner's prose is elegant and funny, his descriptions of conflict and boredom, landscapes both internal and external, beauty in the everyday, are luminous.

How fascinating to read a new novel, set in far-away Namibia with a cast of characters that are about as unfamiliar to westerners as is the small village school that they inhabit. They are indeed a world apart from your traditional boys school faculty. Eccentric, opionated, but strangely sophisticated, though their days are spent away from 'civilization.' They do get their news, albeit a few days old. Does it matter? One doesn't instantly fall in step with their lifestyle. There is even a slight resistance to it, but Orner has sensed this natural anxiety on the part of his readers. His protagonist, an American from Ohio, is a remarkably forbearing creature. He's in a milieu that would baffle anyone, but Orner brings him and it alive. He does help us along with bits of Namibian history and folklore - it colonialism under the Germans and British; its heroes; and the strange victims of war and poverty that stray into the school compound. Nevertheless, the book could have been a withering critique. The dreadful drought and heat strain resources; yet, as at the school, the daily routine is still maintained. And Orner makes us realize how normal the bizarre is with precise vignettes of everyone and everything. Living in the veld in Namibia may not be your cup of tea, but one feels fortunate to have this inside view. And, more importantly, it is to Orner's great credit that we finish reading the book and immediately want to return to it for a closer, more leisurely look. His storytelling is beguiling.

Reviewed by Linda Benninghoff for Reader Views (5/06) This unusual novel tells the story of Larry Kaplanski, who volunteers as a teacher in a Namibian school for boys called Goas. A desolate, out of the way place, situated on the veld, Goas has shaped the characters of the other teachers and shapes Kaplanski's outlook on the world. The author is not afraid to show the negative sides of things as well as the positive, and a bleak picture is built up. The story is told of a former teacher who had an affair with another teacher's wife. The jealous husband killed him, but he remained entwined in his wife's arms at the scene of the crime, the two of them fast asleep. These strong, sometimes disturbing images form the background of "The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo." Mavala Shikongo, a Marxist and guerrilla fighter in Nambia's long war for independence, leaves then comes back, with a small boy, Tomo. Attractive, exciting and daring enough to go against convention, she seems to attract all the teachers, but most of all Kaplanski. Kaplanski's relationship with Mavala provides some relief from the oppressiveness of Goas. As he writes home to his mother, I have a sense how much his focus has changed during his time at the school. Mavala asks him why he came here. "It seemed like a good idea at the time," Kaplanski answers noncommittally, as though the idealism that brought him here has disappeared in the face of the bleakness surrounding him. "To come and save all the dark babies," he goes on, with certain grimness. The characters are well-rounded and seem to speak from the pages to the reader, and by the end of the book their generosity of spirit becomes apparent, as well as their negative traits. I came to care about them deeply. There is Obadiah, who is always making speeches. There is Auntie, who has a collection of puppies she has rescued. When Auntie is sick, Antoinette takes care of the whelps but there is talk of drowning them. Luckily Auntie returns. I enjoyed learning about the history and culture of a country I knew nothing about. This immersion in another way of life is very effective. The writing flows smoothly. The images of the school and the veld unfold from the pages and come to life. This is a deep, mysterious and rich book.

I wanted to skim this book. I couldn't stop reading. Finished the whole book before even trying to put it down. What a great read. Staccato. Short chapters, short sentences, half sentences. An English teacher's nightmare!! Staccato, like in music. Great. Presented Namibia exactly like I have always imagined it. Dry, desolate, capturing. The people, the same. This woman, Mavala. Just as staccato as the book itself. Read it, you will love it.