The White Mosque: A Memoir

Samatar (The Winged Histories), a fantasy novelist, professor of African and Arabic literature, and daughter of a Swiss Mennonite and a Somali Muslim, offers an exploration of identity and culture as she recounts her journey from Russia through Uzbekistan to the Christian village of Ak Metchet (“the White Mosque”). Samatar draws upon her own observations, folklore, and recounted conversations to illuminate a slice of history that many listeners may not be aware of—the history of the Mennonite people in central Asia. Samatar interweaves her own experiences, both from childhood and as part of her pilgrimage to the White Mosque, with that of 19th-century European Mennonites, who followed the charismatic leader, Claas Epp Jr., to Uzbekistan to await the second coming of Christ. Samatar’s delivery is not as vibrantly performative as some narrators’, but it is clear and compelling, tenderly revealing the connections between past and present.