The African Piper of Harlem by Zeena Nackerdien

Profile:

"A Tale of Bullies and Deception

Neither fish nor fowl, every immigrant threads the needle between being one of "us" versus one of "them." The plot is both a fantasy and an exercise in exploring ways in which recent African immigrants and African-Americans recognize and embrace each other's cultural differences.

In Harlem, the mecca of black America, immigrants of every complexion live side by side with the descendants of slaves. The story begins with a description of how bullies belittle the twins, Bilal and Nawaal, who are of Nigerian descent. Grandpa Abram and their mother, Ola, do not know how to help the children.

Out of nowhere, a mysterious figure, Abekepi appears, and this fantastic piper offers to rid the neighborhood of bullies for a crazy reward. What follows is an intriguing, and sometimes unsettling, weaving of social themes, in which a supernatural being intervenes to turn the struggles of a single mother and her twins into triumph."

Title:  The African Piper of Harlem

Author:  Zeena Nackerdien

Publisher:  CreateSpace               

Reviewed By:  Arlena Dean

Rating:  Four

Review:

"The African Piper of Harlem" by Zeena Nackerdien

My Thoughts.....

"This book steps through the looking glass to a fictional Harlem neighborhood and follows the lives of a Nigerian family."

What a great tale with a interesting ending as it was for Ola and her two children Bilal and Nawaal who were  twins who lived in Harlem, NY.  We find Ola was from Nigeria and who had recently lost her mother.  Now Ola had only her father Abram who was their to help her with her children because their father wasn't around due to the fact her was in jail. As the children grew older Ola found that they had received quite a bit of bulling from their classmates and being at her wits end, she turns to her father and they pray for help and it came.  

From "out of nowhere, a mysterious figure appears by the name of Abekepi as this fantastic piper offers to rid the neighborhood of bullies for a crazy reward...For one million dollars or a hundred placentas!"  Now, this story will be a very interesting tale that will keep you turning the pages to see what will comes next for Ola, her children, her father and by the end the reader will get 'a bit of magical realism that will come from seeing everything set right.'  In the end the reader will see how "an intriguing, and sometimes unsettling, weaving of social themes, in which a supernatural being intervenes to turn the struggles of a single mother and her twins into triumph."  The story's ending was indeed beautiful in that the twins got to meet a special person who had not been in their lifes.  

Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced e copy.