A Disappearance in Fiji
by Nilima Rao
It’s 1914 and 25-year-old Akal Singh has been reassigned to Fiji from his respected position as a police sergeant with a promising career in Hong Kong for committing a mistake in carrying out his duties. He hopes to rectify this by quickly and successfully solving future cases. He hopes he can return to Hong Kong with his reputation restored. Unfortunately, unlike his previous boss, his new boss is unhelpful and patronizing. Singh is assigned a minor case (deemed minor by his commanding British officer), which turns out to be both alarming and complex. Kunti, a young woman who is an indentured plantation worker, has disappeared. Curiously, at the same time of her disappearance, the white Australian overseer of the sugar cane plantation also disappeared.
Singh is hindered in his investigation by his boss and other police officials, who are prejudiced by the effects created by colonialism’s deep-rooted distrust and patronizing attitudes towards non-whites, which includes indentured workers, Indians like himself, and native Fijians. Being a Sikh and Indian is a double whammy! An engaging historical mystery, it candidly delves into the exploitation of labor by the British in their colonies and illuminates the results of cultural ignorance and indifference. “The Indian indentured servitude program has been established under British rule and came into its own after slavery was abolished in the British Empire. Under this program, Indians were sent all over the world, to places like Trinidad, Jamaica and Mauritius.” It was a popular way to import cheap labor. From 1879 to 1916, over sixty thousand Indians went to Fiji as indentured servants. Half of them returned to India after their contracts ended. The author’s great-grandparents were part of the thirty thousand who stayed.
An immensely enjoyable read, I look forward to reading the next book in the series Rao has planned. Nilima Rao is a Fijian Indian Australian. She states in the “Author’s Note” section of her book she was born in Fiji, is of Indian heritage, and grew up in Australia.
Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire
by Roger Crowley
A riveting and enlightening narrative, Conquerors describes the incredible accomplishments of the Portuguese beginning with their expansion in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans between 1415 to 1520, and the global trading monopoly they created stretching from Brazil to China, which lasted into the 17th century. Portugal was a small, impoverished nation who through determination, ingenuity, might, and a combination of technology in ship faring and weaponry which exceeded anything the Muslim, European, or Indian world possessed, transformed this backwater country into a powerful commercial dominance by land and by sea. Crowley chronicles how Portugal gained control of the maritime trade routes that brought the highly sought after riches of Asia and Africa, specifically spices, silks, and gold, to Europe. The Portuguese also extended their reach to Japan, China, and the Philippines.
In 1503, command of the Indian Ocean was given to Afonso de Albuquerque, who was primarily responsible for creating the Portuguese supremacy. Albuquerque was eminently experienced having “fought the Ottoman Turks in Italy, the Arabs in North Africa, and the Castilians in Portugal.” The gripping account details how he was shipwrecked, imprisoned, and poisoned during his exploits. He spent nine years in the Indian Ocean, then was recalled by his enemies at court. Devastated, he died in 1515. Albuquerque’s legacy was a Portuguese Empire that predated British, Dutch, and French colonial plans in Africa and Asia, and outlasted the British Raj in India and Africa.
While Christopher Columbus garnered notoriety for exploration of the Americas in the West, Crowley describes how Portugal’s success was achieved by traveling to the East. A fascinating story, Crowley vividly recounts the diverse cultures the Portuguese encountered and dealt with, such as the Hindus, Mamluks, and Muslims, how trading posts were established to secure control of local regions, and the political climate at the time. According to Smithsonian Journeys website, “Roger Crowley is a UK-based writer and historian and a graduate of Cambridge University. As the child of a naval family, his fascination with the Mediterranean world and its surrounding area started early, on the island of Malta. He has lived in Istanbul, walked across much of western Turkey, and travelled throughout the region over many years – from Spain and Portugal to the Black Sea. His particular interests are the Portuguese, Byzantine, Venetian, and Ottoman empires, seafaring, and eyewitness history. He is the author of five much acclaimed books: 1453: The Holy War for Constantinople, Empires of the Sea, City of Fortune: How Venice Ruled the Seas, Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire, and most recently, The Accursed Tower: The Fall of Acre and the End of the Crusades.”
The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human
by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Mukherjee, the celebrated author, oncologist, cell biologist, immunologist, and hematologist has done it again. His latest book is a brilliant, engaging, illuminating, and easy to read, accessible book for a wide audience including readers not well versed in science or medicine, scientists, and physicians. It’s about the emerging field of cell therapy and cellular science, and the immune system. By using a narrative full of analogies, metaphors, and personal stories from discussing his father’s illness and subsequent death, to real patients’ experiences, readers can relate and appreciate the content.
In addition, he chronicles how historically our understanding of medicine has evolved and how past discoveries have proven to be gateways to current discoveries and concepts. For instance, he discusses how the microscope, invented in the16th century made possible the discovery of the cell decades later, and how cellular science in the future can use that knowledge to create new humans. By creating new humans, he means by using cellular engineering and cell therapy to create treatments for people with devastating diseases such as cancer and diabetes. Bone marrow transplantation, already in use, is an example.
This is the third book in what Mukherjee now calls his trilogy, the other two notable books being the Pulitzer Prize–winning The Emperor of All Maladies and The Gene. As with his other books, I could not put down this phenomenal book.
Adult book reviews are by Susanne Dominguez.