THE HOUSE OF RUST

Join a girl and a talking cat on a magical realist sea voyage.

In this debut novel, Aisha, a Mombasa girl, goes to sea on a boat made of a fish skeleton to find her missing father. Accompanying her is a wise, skinny, yellow, and very talkative cat, Hamza. This is magical realism, Kenya-style. The author reaches into the mythology of her Hadrami culture to conjure talking animals and discursive sea creatures as she charts her heroine’s journey from home and back. “There are things in the water that could eat you alive,” Hamza tells Aisha. “Though I’m sure you already know this and quite well.” (Hamza is a bit of a smart aleck.) This is a novel of tradition, ritual, and mystical adventure: “On the tables of kings, candle wax had dripped down the cat’s skull and whiskers. An obedient, trained creature, but at heart: a philosopher and spy.” And a cat. Aisha sails away with her feline friend, pulling us into a series of dialogues and riddles, few of them with other humans. Then they return, and things get strange. Even if you’re not a fan of magical realism, this window into Hadrami culture should at least stoke your curiosity.

An adventure tale rife with creatures and immersed in the Hadrami culture of Kenya.