Finding Colombia
seeks to satiate an innate desire in young readers for a world where their
agemates self-actualise themselves. You see, the beauty of stories for young
people is that it is peppered by adventure, conquests, a general search for
answers on why things are the way they are etc. Hence, the word “finding” in
the title heralds a journey of discovery and invites/conscripts the young
reader into a conspiratorial quest for Colombia. It is a trip that most young
persons would definitely excurse.
This
is the story of Lex, the main character, a young man who is addicted to a drug
nicknamed Jet Lee. Jet Lee is inhaled and its fumes are believed to knock one
out in seconds hence its fame with many a young people. It is one among many
other drugs that the youth in the text are cast as struggling with. Indeed,
much of what they gather in form of alms is wasted on the same. The beauty with
the plotting of this story is that it is fast paced from the beginning to the
end. Lex experiences the ricocheting of a bullet against the wall as it buzzes
past his ear missing him by a whisker. This initial encounter with law
enforcers, Lex’s attempt to escape, his eventual capture and admission into a
rehabilitation centre to help with investigations to nab a notorious drug lord
provides the backdrop for an exciting read.
Lex’s story resonates with the reader. It is
about a young man who loses his breadwinner – mother – and he has to fend for
himself in the streets. Life in the streets is unforgiving and Lex soon becomes
hooked to drugs in an attempt to quell the hunger pains and in most cases
unforgiving weather patterns. Lex’s suffering draws the sympathy of the reader
as we come to terms with his deteriorating values. Unlike some common adventure
stories I grew up with, like Nancy Drew
Series or Hardy Boys Series,
where the heroes or heroines are either from middle class or are well off, Lex
is just a street kid. The odds appear to be against him and this unlikely hero
becomes the more appealing to the reader.
In
his characteristic nature, Kombani deliberately avoids dwelling on the message.
In African communities we are often than not socialised into telling moralistic
stories hell-bend to bestow particular morals. Ironically, Kombani’s effort to
entertain the reader unwittingly also conveys themes thereby underlying in the
story. For instance, Lex’s life portrays the dangers of dalliance with drugs
and warns youth against quick fix solutions to life’s problems. The reader also
deduces that human beings can easily be beguiled by cons in our midst like
Angela does to Lex. Angela has been the most supportive person in the
rehabilitation centre but inadvertently Lex discovers that she is the Colombia
he has been seeking all the time.
Finding
Colombia is not just a journey of self-discovery for Lex, it is the story of
youth of today and their woes. As the characters in the story keep repeating, “one
day at a time” is the mantra by which we should all live. At a time that young
people are wont to seek for shortcuts to make it in life, Finding Colombia warns us that all that glitters is not, after all,
gold. We have to, each, deal with our personal problems before we can set out
to fix the world or society at large.
In
this story, the youth will discover varied characters who represent different
facets of who they are. They will cherish the adrenaline of Lex’s run for his
life, but they will also have to reckon with the hardship/suffering of recovery
from drug addiction and the long journey to re-establish societal connections
in an unforgiving society. This is best epitomised by Brian alias Moses who
chews on grass imagining it is khat. However, this is a story of promise and
unmeasurable possibilities since an unlikely young person literally rises from
the ashes like the phoenix.
Kombani
won the 2018 Burt award for African Literature for Finding Colombia and rightfully so. Lex’s attempt to resolve the
puzzle of the drug dealer who has eluded detectives for long is recipe for a
good reader since the odds are against him. First, he is not educated and
secondly, he is just a street urchin clueless of the happenings around him. The
ability to weave a plot around Lex and granting him a foil in Angela, the
unlikely villain of the story, creates sufficient suspense to assuage the
reader’s appetite through the twists and turns of Lex’s involvement with
detectives, up to the climax and denouement of the story. Please determine to
finding time oops Colombia to read and enjoy in the process.
