Book Review - Trouble in Timbuktu

by Martha Hills

Cristina Kessler and I are sitting in her home above Coral Bay. She has made us mugs of tea to warm us on this chilly, rainy morning. The sounds of African drumming and mellow voices softy fill the space around us - music from the West African countries of Mali and Burkina Faso. Cristina has invited me here today to talk about her newest book for young adult readers, Trouble in Timbuktu.

As we're talking, I recall a time when, to me, Timbuktu wasn't a place that really existed. People would say, "I'm heading to Timbuktu," to describe going to an out-of-the-way place that you probably hadn't heard of before. I mention this to Cristina, and she says, "They still do!" Then she relates to me that, just a couple of weeks ago when she was doing a "Behind the Books" night at Maho Bay, a young lady approached her and asked in a wondering voice, "Does Timbuktu really exist?"

It definitely exists, and Cristina Kessler brings it alive for readers of Trouble in Timbuktu. The ancient city has declined from its heyday in the 14^th and 15^th centuries when it was a thriving Islamic center with a dynamic populace: over a hundred thousand of them were Islamic scholars. At that time, the Niger River flowed through Timbuktu (its course has changed over the intervening years - it now flows about ten miles to the south). It became a place where "the camel met the canoe for trade", and it attracted intellectuals from the entire Muslim world. But I'm getting ahead of myself here, because Cristina's book weaves this history, and much more, into her story line.

As in her previous books, the author has drawn strong, well-defined characters. Ahmed is based on a young man Cristina came to know in Timbuktu. He is intelligent and industrious, and has taught himself multiple languages. Ahmed's twin sister in the book is Ayisha, a lively, bright girl who is a natural leader. For a young Bella female she's quite outspoken; in fact, other people, young and old alike, find her downright bossy.

The twins prove themselves to be a clever little team when they unite to trap a couple of toubabs ("stranger" in French West Africa; a helpful glossary is included) who have come to Timbuktu with the sole purpose of getting their hands on a few ancient manuscripts. Griff is a driven man and a disgraced archeologist; Trudy is the woman who quit school to be with him. When the twins learn about the toubabs' objective, they decide to make sure the manuscripts stay in Timbuktu, and they secretly plot to stop the couple. This despite risking the wrath of their parents, particularly that of their mother Miriam. Ayisha has the most at stake: she has promised her mother to stay out of trouble in exchange for being allowed to continue her schooling at the lycée (a rare privilege for a girl in Western Africa).

I like that one of Cristina Kessler's goals in writing is to present Islam in a gentler light than it is generally seen in today. As in an earlier picture book, One Night: A Story from the Desert, the Muslims who people this work are kind souls who honor their god and their fellow man alike with dignity and grace. The respect they hold for their ancient manuscripts is profound. The theme of the one highlighted in this book is world peace; others address the subjects of astronomy, music, botany, the sciences and history.

There is now a significant black-market business in these very old texts. Primarily owned by individual families, they were once bought and sold like books are bought and sold today, and have been handed down through the generations. Their owners have treasured them, their value being "equal to that of salt." Active measures are now taken to prevent them from leaving Timbuktu.

Ahmed and Ayisha's quest takes them across the desert in search of their favorite Auntie B. She's a colorful and warm presence with her vibrant garments and adventurous spirit. Though a Bella by birth, she has chosen to live at the edge of a sand dune in a Tuareg village with the family she's known since childhood. Historically, the Tuareg have looked down on the Bella, whom they owned as slaves in an earlier time. As a consequence, relations between the two groups can be uneasy. Still, Auntie B has found her place among them. The twins travel to find her and hope to enlist her help in ensnaring the toubabs.

Woven into the story are hints of a family secret that Ahmed and Ayisha have been told they will learn when they are older. Auntie B is the key to this puzzle, which is related to the ancient manuscripts and a mysterious uncle. The tension grows as we near the end of the story, playing out as the twins venture on a trip down the Niger on a rickety wooden boat to Niafunke.

Much of the book is based on Cristina's own adventures in Mali, and this lends to its authenticity. She confesses that Trudy's becoming cranky and short-tempered because of the heat and dust is the way she herself behaved at times. The voyage along the Niger on the pinasse is one the author made. And her graphic descriptions throughout the story clearly had to have come from her own experiences. She shares with the reader details about Bella family life, and more, that make the scenes come alive in your mind as you read: the interior of a dwelling tent, the sights and scents in a market, the multihued attire of the women and their jangling bracelets, the immensity of the desert - all shine with clarity and invitation.

The author has a quiet way of getting across her belief about the importance of independent thinking and education. Ayisha holds close to her heart the dream of not only attending the lycée, but after that the university in Bamako. Though she is willing to risk that in order to protect the manuscripts, the determined hope never leaves her awareness.

Cristina also presents Ayisha, and so her young readers, with the opportunity for self-reflection. Toward the end of the story, hot and tired from the return journey across the desert, "...she slid off her donkey's back. I wonder, she thought, if being independent and being bossy are often confused, especially if I am involved? She rubbed her donkey's back, then took a gourd hanging off its side to fill with water for the tired beast. As she worked, she thought, Perhaps if I listen more often, trying my best to follow some instructions instead of always giving them, people will think I am independent instead of bossy. It seemed to be working with Baba Abdul, who had not called her bossy since the beginning of the trip. She liked that."

Though Trouble in Timbuktu is written for young adults, I recommend it to readers of all ages. The multiple threads of the story come together to make for an enjoyable reading experience.

Cristina Kessler's ninth book, Trouble in Timbuktu is available at the Papaya Café on St. John and at Amazon.com. The author will be making a "Behind the Books" presentation at Dockside Books on St. Thomas on April 25 at 2pm. If you would like Cristina to personally inscribe a copy of the book, contact her through this newspaper or through her website at www.cristinakessler.com.

April 2009