The Kingdom of Sebah English Excerpt Interview with Vamba Sherif BOOKS Books by Vamba Sherif are published in Dutch. English language translations are not yet available. Bound to Secrecy (2007) The novel is concerned with the theme of power and uses the detective medium to explore power at different levels of society. In the novel, a man is sent to investigate the disappearance of an African paramount chief, only to discover that his behaviour is exactly like the man he came to investigate. The novel explores the interplay of powers, both visible and invisible. It reflects today's world, with forces pitted against each other, each determined to destroy the other. The Kingdom of Sebah (2003) The story of a woman, Sebah, who settles with her husband and two children in the Netherlands. Mansakeh, the son and the narrator of the story, describes the difficulties the family faces in trying to integrate into the Dutch society. But there is another problem in the family much more difficult to deal with than the attempt to integrate: a secret that follows them from Africa, and which threatens to break them apart. The Land of the Fathers (1999) A historical novel set in nineteenth century Liberia, the novel describes the founding of Liberia, and the interaction of the emigrants, the so-called Americo-Liberians, with the tribes that were already living on that western coast of Africa. The novel is a story of friendship. One of the two main characters, Edward Richard, a man born into slavery, leaves America in search of his beloved Charlotte. In Liberia, he’s confronted with a country that’s trying to stand on its feet. Edward, a preacher by profession, believes that the future of Liberia lies in working together with the tribes. He goes into the hinterland, preaching the word of God. There, in the far north, he meets a man who becomes his friend: Halay, or Halayngi, as the Gbandis pronounce it. The story of Halayngi is very popular in northern Liberia. Halay, or Halayngi, was a man who sacrificed himself, like Jesus did, to save that part of the world from all wars. With his death, the people believed, all wars would be averted. But the irony of history is that a century later a war would ravage the land, sweeping up in its destructive path the descendants of Edward and Halay. View Author's Biography