My previous encounter with this writer was via one of his Crane and Drake novels, The Trenches, under the name Parker Bilal which I enjoyed immensely. So I was thrilled to get my hands on a copy of The Fugitives thanks to Canongate Books.
Interwoven with an engaging humour The Fugitives tells the story of the Kamanga Kings, disbanded now but a cult jazz band from the Sudan. The thoroughly likeable Rushdy who is the son of an original band member is instrumental (no pun intended) in responding to a request from Washington DC inviting the group to perform by encouraging them to reform, albeit with a different lineup. And so the action takes place in the Sudan and in the USA subtly allowing the reader to grapple with the differences between two cultures, two nations.
The book is as entertaining as the music that the mighty Kamanga Kings play, jazz aficionados will love it. It’s original and treads a tightrope between humour and the serious. It achieves an almost perfect balance between expansive humanity and abrasive politics. Trump is president need I say more? So themes of Islamophobia and racism are present. But somehow, in spite of the gravity of such themes the book never presents as too intense or oppressive.
The characters just leap off the page at you, quirky, imperfect, but human and real. Rushdy is the cement that glues them all together and if sometimes the action borders on the almost farcical it is Rushdy who brings us back to the most serious. I loved him because he doesn’t always see what’s right under his nose but his motive seems so pure and well intended the way he flounders made me want to give him a big hug.
There are some wonderful observations in the book - ‘ When life begins to fade, it’s the bright moments that stand out.’ uttered by the ageing Alkanary, another of my favourite characters perhaps because she was older and I could identify with her.
Some of the soul-searching exchanges between Rushdy and his best friend Hisham contain similar truths - ‘We should be living in the present, thinking of now, and of the future, not tying ourselves to a dream our parents had.’
The music too is palpable and it’s almost as if the book has a syncopated beat that runs through it to mirror the musical numbers that the Kings play. It’s a celebration of music, of jazz and of how unifying music can be.
As a story it’s an absolute delight, with some cliffhangers (almost literally!), it entertains and it seeks to provoke some consideration from the reader on a variety of themes. I really enjoyed the writing. It was one of those books that left me with a sense of satisfaction when I concluded it.
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