by Mark Silva
They had the same father, but they have very different life stories. And today, the more reclusive half-brother of President Barack Obama is telling his.
Mark Okoth Obama Ndesandjo, who has lived in the Chinese city of Shenzhen for seven years, has produced an autobiographical novel, From Nairobi to Shenzhen. It's quite a different tale than that of the best-selling memoir that Obama wrote years ago, Dreams From My Father.
The Washngton Post reports today on Ndesandjo speaking out for the first time. He attended his half-brother's inauguration last year, and says he plans to see the president when he makes an official visit to Beijing later this month - Obama plans to leave Washington on Nov. 11 for an annual APEC summit of Pacific-rim nations and tour of Japan, South Korea, Singapore and China.
Ndesandjo credits Obama's election with helping him come to terms with a painful past and finishing his book. His self-published novel features a character called David and depicts his Kenyan father as an abusive alcoholic who beat him.
Barack Obama Sr. married the author's mother, Ruth Nidesand, while he was studying at Harvard, after divorcing President Obama's mother, Stanley Ann Dunham. The elder Obama and Nidesand lived together in Nairobi, Kenya, where Mark spent much of his childhood. President Obama, born in Hawaii, was mostly raised there.
Obama wrote his own book telling of his comng of age after graduating from Harvard Law School, years before he found a path to the presidency. His half-brother's book, about a life on another continent and published on yet another, tells of another path altogether.
"It's a work of fiction, but there's a lot going on in there that parallels my life," Ndesandjo said of his own book in an interview before a news conference launching the book. "My father beat me. He beat my mother. And you just don't do that," Ndesandjo said. "I shut those thoughts in the back of my mind for many years."
See the Post's account. The photo above pictures President Obama's half-brother Mark Okoth Obama Ndesandjo at a press conference prior to his book launch in Guangzhou, China, today. (Mike Clarke - AFP/Getty Images)
Comments
Countdown to the Wingnuts calling Obama a Fascist/Socialist/Commie/Nazi who wants to indoctrinate our school children and kill Granny.
5...4..3..2....1..Ding Ding Ding!
Posted by: I wanna be a Republican idiot | November 4, 2009 1:57 PM
"It's a work of fiction, but there's a lot going on in there that parallels my life," Ndesandjo said of his own book in an interview before a news conference launching the book. "My father beat me. He beat my mother. And you just don't do that," Ndesandjo said. "I shut those thoughts in the back of my mind for many years."
So, what does this say about the Barack Obama self serving autobiographies? His story appears to be a bit different as reported and drooled over by the faithful followers, however, I haven't read any of the Obama books, Barry or Mark.
Posted by: springfield | November 4, 2009 2:01 PM
Don't comment if you haven't read either book. In fact, how can you comment if you don't know what the subject matter is?
Posted by: Bendetag | November 4, 2009 6:23 PM
I watched a short interview with Mark this morning on TV. He is an intelligent and well-spoken man. Best wishes to him.
Posted by: rebecca | November 4, 2009 6:23 PM
Ooohhhh, I see a cabinet post in his future........And by the way, the first poster is already an idiot Ding Ding Ding....
Posted by: Truth | November 5, 2009 2:24 PM