The In-Between World of Vikram Lall
First edition
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| Author | M. G. Vassanji |
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| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical Fiction |
| Publisher | Doubleday Canada |
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Publication date
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11 October 2003 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 405 |
| ISBN | |
The In-Between World of Vikram Lall is a novel by M. G. Vassanji, published in 2003 by Doubleday Canada. The novel won the Scotiabank Giller Prize that year and narrates a story of Vikram Lall in the colonial and post-colonial Kenya. The title for the novel also inspired the title for Elizabeth Nunez's novel Anna In-Between, published in 2009.
Vikram Lall is an adult living in exile in Canada and the novel plots him contemplating over his life as a teenager of Indian origin living in Kenya in 1950s. His grandfather was brought to Africa from Northwest India as a labourer and his father Ashok was a member of the Asian Home Guard troops that works for the British. He has a younger sister Deepa. The story revolves around Vikram, Deepa, Njoroge and two more British siblings Bill and Ann; who are all friends growing up in Nakuru during the colonial rule. Njoroge belongs to a Kikuyu farming labourer family. The Mau Mau Uprising gains momentum and Bill and Ann's British parents are killed in it. Later Njoroge and Deepa fall in love which is detested by Deepa's mother Sheila. Njoroge's grandfather Mwangi is a staunch supporter of Mau Mau and Vikram's uncle Mahesh also sides him. Mwangi is killed by British and Mahesh gets deported to India. Deepa is forced to marry an Indian leaving her love aside, Njoroge joins the government and Vikram becomes a middleman taking bribes for fixing things and changing currencies. Njoroge's idealistis views eventually get him murdered. Vikram gets involved in political turbulences and is labelled as "one of Africa's most corrupt men" after which he lives an isolated life in Canada.
The novel is fifth by Vassanji and was published on 11 October 2003 by Doubleday Canada. It is divided into four parts spread over four decades and begins with Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Vassanji who was born in Kenya dedicated the novel as a tribute to East Africa's Indian population and their contributions to the railroad and the politics of Kenya. In 2016, Vassanji went on a tour organized by Storymoja Festival in Kenya and Nairobi, on which the novel's plot is based on. Vassanji took part in book signing and discussions with teachers and students. The novel was later published in the digital form as an e-book.
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