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| Author Hamdan Hussein holding a copy of his debut novel 'Fine Needle' |
I haven’t read many novels by millennials so it was
refreshing to read a novel by one from Tanzania. Where you bump into references
of known celebrities like Ali Kiba, John Legend, Kanye West, “They were
pictures of my birthday cake whose theme was ripped off straight from Ye’s
POWER track cover art.”- Fine Needle by
H. Hussein.
The author Hamdan Hussein is a licensed medical practitioner
in his early thirties and in this his debut novel, the main character is also a
medical practitioner who is 27yrs old. Coursing through the pages you get the
feeling the novel has a lot of parallels with Hamdan’s own life, as Donny the
main character also has penned a novel. “”I like the novel by the way. You’ve
got a knack with words,” she said softly.” Yusra-Fine
Needle by H.H
Fine Needle is a drama with embers of a thriller in its
plot, told from the main character’s lens Donny Shira. It uncovers critical
events following the first job Donny is in as an intern at Sewahaji National
Hospital. As you bump into hospital terminologies in abbreviations like
CPL-Central Pathology Laboratory, FNAC-Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology. This
hospital world comes to life as a believable place where we meet Donny, Yusra,
Benny among others.
Donny had a rocky childhood with his father dying while
he was at the tender age of one and his mother soon following suit. From his
teen years he practically raised himself which leaves him with a somber outlook
on life. “I need to look out for number one. I’m on my own. I’ve always been
that way my whole life.” Donny-Fine
Needle by H.H
Still it was amusement more than empathy that kept me
turning the pages, as Donny and many of the characters in this novel. Are
flawed yet endearing as you can picture persons in your life with these same
outlooks. Take Donny’s view of women to him a woman who is with child and not
wed wears a warning sign and while he is ok to have an office fling. He goes on
to name the lady in question whom he’s had a few sexual encounters with as ‘same
crazy bitch’.
However flawed the characters they also have amicable
strengths that unravel in a plot that is well defined. Allowing me to finish
the book (287pages paperback) sparsely within two days; you see Donny is very
passionate about justice for the medical workers particularly those working as
Clinical Laboratory Scientists. Donny goes to lengths to protest the rights of
those in his profession. In between he falls in love and in lust but also he finds
out things about his childhood. That allow him to see his father in a new
light, another endearing character in this book is Yusra. Yusra is a strong
woman who is a young single mother that still manages to forge a strong career.
She is Donny’s superior and their interactions give much of the sauce in this
book, I liked her unapologetic demeanor.
Fine Needle is also a social commentary; set in a
country called ‘Tanzagiza’ with a Minister of Health called Hon Umami Maalum
and a President recently sworn in after the death of a Hon Joseph called Hon
Mama Samira. As an East African you will quickly get the tongue in cheek connotations
of these characters names, which resemble real figures. Here the author uses
his work to highlight the plight of freshly graduated students as they
encounter the working field with student loans and working conditions that are
unsavory.
The story is juicy and the end is savory my only qualm
with this work as it is self published. Is the lack of a strong editor behind
it, which in the fiction publishing world of Tanzania can’t be faulted much as
the market is rocky. Really you should be proud of an author who completes the
effort of writing and publishing. But yes this work will be elevated to the
rung it deserves with a good editor. So that its characters are more defined
and the pace smoothed to allow for a more gripping tale. That said it is
definitely worth a buy especially as it sheds light to stories seldom told. The
book if in Dar es Salaam is available at Ridge Café otherwise you can order it
via this email heleluhelelu@gmail.com or contact the author directly on his Instagram page here
n.b. this article written by Caroline Uliwa was first published in The East African newspaper here
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