Djibouti

Why Do You, Dance When You Walk?
by Abdourahman A Waberi

“If l had a crazy leg, as they said, l did not have broken wings.”

Set in the intense heat of Djibouti on the eve of the country's independence, this is the tale of an unwanted, ignored and vulnerable child. His ability to read is his only comfort, but it offers him an escape from which he will never look back. In 2021 Djibouti-born author Abdourahman A Waberi was awarded the English PEN Translates Award for this novel.

Translated by David & Nicole Ball
Casava Republic Press, 2022
ISBN 9781913175320