Karen Russell's debut novel opens with a clash of premises: Hilola Bigtree, bathed in starlight before her adoring daughter, dives off a platform to swim with a congregation of alligators. As far as traditional romantic tropes go, Russell's melodic descriptions of a swamp-dwelling, gator-wrestling family in decline certainly redefine the themes of dysfunctionality, misplaced spiritualism and fragile dreams. They also won her a place on the long list for the 2011 Orange Prize.
Swamplandia! unfolds through the eyes of 13-year-old Ava Bigtree after her mother Hilola's death. Although determined to step up to the now- vacant position of star attraction at the family's crumbling gator-themed park, she also has to contend with her aloof father, an older sister immersed in the world of Ouija boards, and her brother's defection to a rival business.
Bright without being precocious, Ava's engaging narrative is proof of Russell's undoubted talent as a storyteller. This is a haunting, spellbinding work that transforms an uninviting swamp into an eerie, myth-laced mural.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
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Warlight,
Michael Ondaatje, Knopf
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
