ABSTRACT
This chapter examines Nuruddin Farah’s eleventh novel, Crossbones, as a trauma narrative. Ever since the overthrow of the dictator General Siad Barre in 1991, Somalia has been described as a “failed state” in a “post-collapse” period, meaning that there has been no central authority able to exert consistent internal control and to advance the nation’s international interests. Set in 2006, Crossbones describes the Somali experience of war with Ethiopia and piracy along its long coastline, from the perspective of several figures from the Somali diaspora. Farah’s narrative depicts traumatic failures of the state, but also of individuals, of intergenerational relationships, and of social communication. Jeebleh’s Dante-like journey through Mogadiscio, a generation of young adults who have lost their bearings, the failure of Malik’s journalistic efforts, and above all the problem of memory as symbolized by his failed laptop, all offer a specifically Somali perspective on trauma-induced failures.
