Although well written, this novel did not grab me at all. It tells the story of a Canadian doctor as he recounts his life growing up in rural Tanzania ( Kilwa).He is searching for Saida , his childhood love. However, the books get bogged down in , to me, random recounts of characters like the pooet, the Germans from WW11 etc. He does find Saida in the end and it `s a rather lame dream type event. ( )

• The Magic of Saida is the story of Kamal Punja, a successful doctor from Edmonton, Canada, returning to his birthplace a small coastal town called Kilwa, part of what is now known as Tanzania to search for his childhood sweetheart, Saida.
• What started out as story with a theme of looking for a lost love morphs into a fully complex storyline that examines identity, abandonment, love, hope, and dislocation wrapped up with magic realism elements and infused with history of the past and present.
• Once again I was drawn into the skillful storytelling of the author as he looks at East Africa through a lens that explores history, politics, religion, ethnicity and societies yet making it personal and intimate.
• As the storyline fluidity moves between the past and the present in Kamal’s life and the past and present of the history of the region, it is Kamal’s background of having an African mother and Indian father that allows for the exploration of the cultures from an inside view. The reader gets to see sectarian conflicts get ignited by forces that have little to do with many who bear the burden of these conflicts and have even less power to resist.
• As Kamal is given “opportunities” that he is “pushed” to accept, often the price he pays is abandonment by those he loves.
• At times some of the historical parts dragged the story down but they are really so necessary to this story and to our understanding of migration and relocation of this area.
• I learned much about the German colonization of East Africa, the role of WWI on East Africa, and the changeover from the German rule to the British rule
• While all of my questions did not get answered by the end of the book relating to some of the outstanding questions/concerns that Kamal has questioned throughout his life – I did see how the past (even the past we are not aware of) so influences the present. As I look around the world and wonder about conflicts that seem to just sprung up I am learning that that the past is the present.
• This is my second book by the author and once again my knowledge has been enriched in an enjoyable reading experience.
• I highly recommend this book for readers of historical fiction.
• One of my favorite quotes from this book is – “Still, he was different. His features announced it plainly, spoke of provenance, posed questions. There were reminders, the small and large ones, accidental or aimed to wound. He had his memories, his private world to turn to at night. No one could interfere with his memories, they were his solace, his hope for some future resolution in his life. They chained him to his past.”
• Second favorite quote – “But, beware of the mouse who caresses you as he knaws.” ( )

Beautifully written account of a man's search for his childhood friend Saida in what had been Tanganyika and his memories of growing up in this area of Africa and its history as recounted when he was young by the local poet. It is also a story of Colonisalism and the slow to nonexistant recovery of the people even decades later. ( )

I received this book as an ARC, sent to me by the publisher, and I finished it a few days ago and am still processing it. This will be a bit of an odd review (but really, most of mine have been recently). I think what's holding me back is I always want to write a review that lets people know what I felt about the book, and if I think they would enjoy it. I keep coming up empty, because all I can think is that this book was just lovely.

In the best possible way, I don't quite know what to make of this book. The book is a soft tale of 20th Century Colonialism, something that's rare in almost all other books related to that topic. It felt real - lives lived and impacted but it wasn't the focus of the book - it was there, it was history and it was life, but it wasn't what the book was about. I put a quick summary from the publisher below because it doesn't flow with my review, but to me the book was about regret, longing and memory. It struck a chord because a recurring feeling the protagonist had was that he didn't know where he belonged, and he never truly felt a part of something.

It's about finding your identity through finding the past. The book was brilliantly written, but Vassanji is a brilliant writer, one I have loved for a while. His brilliance lies in the subtleties of what he writes, the characters that he builds and where he takes the story - and above all I've always thought Vassanji is a storyteller. In all honesty I enjoyed this book more than I've enjoyed a book in a while. I broke my trashy Urban Fantasy kick to read this, and I'm incredibly glad I did. Absolutely go grab a copy, you won't regret it. It will leave you thinking and dreaming, and a feeling nostalgic for things you may have never known. ( )