Djibouti: A Novel

Accompanied by her physically imposing assistant Xavier, award-winning documentary filmmaker Dara Barr travels to the African country of Djibouti to shoot a film on the ongoing piracy problem. The pair meet a variety of local players, including eccentric Texas oilman Billy Wynn and his bored model girlfriend Helene, affable Somali pirate Idris and his scheming British-educated Saudi bureaucrat partner Harry, and Jama Raisuli, an American-born Al Qaeda operative intent on evading capture. As the plot thickens, Dara and Xavier go from being mere spectators to holding the keys to saving many lives.


Reading this book produced three successive reactions: Elmore Leonard has lost his touch, Elmore Leonard has lost his mind, and Elmore Leonard has found a new way to stay relevant. There is ample evidence to support all three. Djibouti is an immensely talky book. The first half or so consists of Dara and Xavier at parties and aboard boats, hobnobbing with all sorts of colorful characters. And while dialogue remains one of Leonard’s strengths, you’ll want to tear your hair out waiting for something to happen. Of course, when things do start happening the pace quickens tremendously and Djibouti becomes as exciting as anything Leonard has ever written.


The catalyst for the change is the novel’s expanding focus on Jama Raisuli (nee James Russell). Originally introduced as a rogue among rogues, Raisuli emerges by the end of the novel not only as its primary villain (no easy feat given Harry’s fondness for arms dealing and bounty hunting behind a civilized veneer), but as one of the most nefarious characters in the author’s entire repertoire. Leonard’s bad guys are often ruthless or sleazy, but none seem as committed to self-preservation and as indifferent to human life as the American jihadist. Perhaps this is the author’s way of reminding us that terrorists are not ordinary criminals.


Unfortunately, the rest of the cast isn’t as magnetic. It’s not that Leonard’s characters aren’t interesting; it’s that this is a book full of supporting players and no real lead for the reader to identify with. Despite being at the center of the action, Dara’s characterization is thin. We don’t get nearly enough about what drives her to make her an effective protagonist. Xavier is closer to an actual hero, but he is too frequently shoved out of focus to serve in that capacity, either.


Djibouti is too uneven and too underdeveloped to rate among Leonard’s best, but the exotic setting, memorable ensemble, and latter-half pace and plotting make it a worthy read.


7.5/10