Captured
Captured , engl. Cross Bones is a novel by Nuruddin Farah published in 2011. He is the third part of the social novel - trilogy Young Thing , the first two works Links and networks are called. This novel is the last published by Farah so far.
content
action
The novels in Somalia took place during two weeks of December 2006. The country is in a civil war between the national transitional government and the radical Islamist Union and its armed arm al-Shabaab , which drove out the warlords supported by regional clans . Ethiopian troops invade in support of the transitional government. In the power vacuum that arose after years of civil unrest, piracy , human trafficking , drug smuggling and other criminal activities prosper . Many Somalis have fled the country.
The two brothers Malik and Ahl, Americans of Somali descent, travel to Somalia at the same time but independently of each other. Ahl is looking for his underage stepson Taxliil, who was brought to Somalia by jihadist recruiters. The war journalist Malik wants to write articles about the situation in the country and also support his brother. At the beginning Malik is accompanied by his father-in-law Jeebleh, who has also emigrated. While Ahl travels to Puntland , Malik initially stays in the capital Mogadishu . Both are welcomed by friendly families, with whom they later also live. Malik seeks contact with influential, shady characters in order to conduct interviews. He is putting himself in increasing danger because journalists are being killed more and more often. At the same time, Ahl meets the dubious Fidno, a pirate middleman, from whom he hopes to help in his search.
With the invasion of Ethiopia, an open military conflict breaks out, and violence and death invade the immediate vicinity of Ahl and Malik, who are desperately pursuing their goals. The women from the two friendly families give them support with their inner strength. The host families act like peaceful shelters in an increasingly anarchic environment. The two brothers do not meet until the end.
worldview
Farah describes the conditions in a failed state in which violence and crime have become commonplace. The brothers can only implement their plans at great risk and with the sacrificing support of friendly-minded people. At the same time, the desperate situation makes it more and more difficult to gain trust in others. The protagonists are more and more traumatized and torn apart by the external circumstances . The apocalyptic scenario at the end of the book shows a destroyed society with no hope of change.
shape
Except for a few flashbacks, the novel is written in the present tense , which means that the events have an immediate effect. The events are usually presented alternately in a personal narrative situation from the perspective of one of the two brothers Malik and Ahl or Jeeblehs. Background information and political positions are conveyed to the reader in numerous dialogues with locals. The plot is often presented laconically . The reflector figures reflect on their experiences and change their consciousness through them.
reception
Reception upon arrival
Sigrid Löffler sees the novel as a consistent continuation of Farah's educational work on Somalia. The "futility of the suffering of the people of Somalia" contrasts sharply with the "retreats of peace" in families. The story, which becomes more and more confused in the course of the story, is felt partly as being in accordance with the state of the country and partly as "unclear". A low psychological development of the main characters is criticized.