ABSTRACT
Nuruddin Farah's Variations on the Theme of an African Dictatorship trilogy is a compelling glimpse into Somalia during the Cold War. Farah’s novels become a site of contest between history and literature as well as space for staging alternative accounts of the period through innovative historiographic interventions. The trilogy reveals that the Somali periods of decolonization and postcolonial nation formation were heavily interrupted and manipulated by Cold War currents. The chapter argues that Farah nuances existing accounts of Somali history. The family is allegorized as nation, the scenes of polyphonic debate facilitate an ethical approach to an unfolding history, the focus on characters that are misfits or outsiders point towards a penchant for unearthing unofficial histories, and the evocation of a Cold War atmosphere of eerie suspicion, suspense and foreboding strengthens the emotional tenor of the trilogy offering the reader a glimpse into the lived reality of the moment.
