Description

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Beyond the Cape A map and brief introduction set the scene by connecting the dots of history. The forceful transformation of the people of Goa by the Portuguese; the enslavement of Africans, followed by the parceling of 11.6 million square miles of Africa, to seven European colonial powers in 1884, and on to the twentieth century. Precocious Lando is born in British-ruled Kenya to Goan parents just as WWII breaks out in Europe. His parents are among those who flocked to East Africa from their native Portuguese India, lured with promises of a bright future by British colonialists, who found that the "Christian Indians" suited their needs perfectly. Lando's family and community struggle to keep their Indo-Portuguese heritage and Catholic faith alive in a Kenya dominated by the ugly reality of racial segregation. But Lando's world is also filled with adventure, and readers will be transported in dhows and steamships across the Indian Ocean, and will travel by ox-drawn carts, carriages, steam locomotives, and bicycles right along with the characters. Ultimately, to fulfill his father's dreams, the eleven-year-old must embark on the biggest adventure of his life: journeying to distant Goa to attend a Jesuit-run boarding school-and then engineering his escape. Beyond the Cape brings vividly to life the alluring sights, sounds, and smells of mid-twentieth century East Africa. The book is filled to the brim with evocative, multi-layered stories steeped in history-stories that are alternately funny, sad, and touching as Lando grapples with the complexities of straddling two distinctly different worlds.

About the Author

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Braz Menezes was born in the British colony of Kenya to immigrant parents from Goa (Portuguese India). He attended racially- segregated schools to the age of seventeen, during which he also spent two years in a Jesuit-run boarding school in Goa. After receiving his degree in architecture, he travelled to Liverpool on a Royal Commonwealth Scholarship to study urban planning. He returned to Kenya in 1966. However, within a decade, deteriorating political conditions forced him to bring his family to Canada in 1976, from where he was recruited by the World Bank to continue his obsession--addressing urban development and poverty alleviation in metropolitan cities. Since returning to Canada he has been active on various causes to help make Canada and the world a better place. His journey into the literary world did not start until after his return to Canada in 2004. He studied creative writing at George Brown College and later attended the mentorship program at Humber College. His debut novel, Just Matata-Sin, Saints and Settlers (2011), and More Matata-Love after the Mau Mau (2013), were both published by Matata Books, Toronto. Menezes is currently working on the third book of the Matata Trilogy. His work has appeared previously in various anthologies since 2010. The books* are available in both print and digital formats. So far they have attracted readers in the US, Canada, Britain, India, Kenya, France, Brazil, Australia, Sweden, and Greece, among others. Just Matata - Sin, Saints and Settlers*CAN ISBN: 978-0-9877963-0-1 USA ISBN-13: 978-1466360938 (CreateSpace-Assigned) More Matata - Love After the Mau Mau* CAN ISBN: 978-0-9877963-2-5 USA ISBN-13: 978-1480086339 (CreateSpace-Assigned)