Why a Booktrail?
2000s: “Secrets are like scars that heal over a wound that never quite disappears.”
The Yellow Room
What you need to know before your trail
Having lived the majority of her life in the shadow of a tragic childhood accident, Chala is shaken by the death of her stepfather who supported her throughout these difficult times. In order to try and move forward with her life, she decides to volunteer at an orphanage in Kenya. Despite providing Chala with the opportunity to re-evaluate her life, the country remains on the brink of violence and soon Chala’s world takes on a new meaning
Locations
ResetTravel Guide
Kenya
The author has spent time and has lived on a flowers farm in a valley overlooking Lake Naivasha. She says that Karen Blixen’s old weekend house still sits there, unfenced, and protected by hippos at night. The author’s father is still buried there and her mother still lives in a log cabin near to the lake. The author says she grew up with Kenya in her blood and went to live there permanently in 2005.
Naivasha
This is a Kikuyu town in the Rift Valley which was one of the areas hit by the post-election violence of 2007 – 2008. In the afterword, the author states how some 1.2000 people were killed and over 500, 000 displaced in the aftermath. As the elections unfolded, Kikuyu slums were burned in Nairobi and people killed in horror and violence. The Kikuyu and Luo tribes were in violent clashes with each othe and recently the case against the president and authorities was dropped at the ICC for alleged intimidation of witnesses.
Yellow
Yellow is the colour of the third Chakra associated with our sense of self-worth where guilt and secrets dwell…
The Orphanage
The orphanage in the story is rooted in reality – based on charity and creating self sufficiency and self- respect. It is not modelled on one place, but rather an amalgamation of many places which work in similar ways.
Booktrailer Review
Susan:@thebooktrailer
A heart wrenching read
The story of going back to a place you hope to discover and rediscover. A place you’re running to and hiding from. A story of a girl finding out about a secret in your past that might not have happened the way you remember it. The consequences of living one life then finding out the truth.
It’s not an easy read by any means but it’s a powerful one. The writing is haunting and the characters moving and heartbreaking in equal measure. To go through such an emotional wringer with Kenya as the backdrop, a country in such utter turmoil at the same time was a tough but very rewarding read. The elections, the violence, the tribal issues….shattering to read about but imagining living through it!
There was beauty too however, not just the landscape but the hope and strength of the Kenyan people. It’s a novel to read and then sit back and thick about. Plenty for a bookgroup to chew over for ages!
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The Yellow Room
Destination: Naivasha, Kenya Author/Guide: Shelan Rodger Departure Time: 2000s
Back to ResultsWhere Next?
