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Portrait of an Island on Fire by Ariel Saramandi (view source)
Revision as of 07:46, 1 July 2025
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|reviewer=Heather Magee
|genre=Politics and Society
|summary=Ariel Saramandi is intelligent and writes with clarity, purpose and initiative. An extremely informative and illuminating read. Ariel Saramandi popped into Bookbag Towers to [[The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Ariel Saramandi|chat to us]].
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
The essay ''Ten Years in Power'' is the longest and most detailed in the collection. It charts Bruneau Laurette's political ascent and downfall, and traces the many political scandals that led to the victory of the Alliance du Changement. This essay also offers one of Saramandi's most compelling reflections on activism. For her, politics is ''a fundamentally radical space'', and activism is defined as ''a desperate rummaging of actions that are possible in a crisis. A confrontation of these actions' limits. Of my own limits. An exploration of what one body can do, one body rallying other bodies''. It is also a constant questioning of systems of control. Ananda Devi, another writer from Mauritius, has said ''I questioned from a very young age the communalism of Mauritian society and the divisive nature of ancestral identities, religions, languages, castes etc. in that society''. Saramandi continues this interrogation, and in doing so draws out an anatomy of a nation in pain, but also a roadmap to healing.
I would like to thank the publisher for sending a review copy to The Bookbag. For more literature about Mauritius, read [[Eve Out of Her Ruins by Ananda Devi]]. {{interviewtext|author=Ariel Saramandi}}
{{amazontext|amazon=1804271616}}