Published in 1969 by a mixed race African, this novel about a farming community in Botswana clearly has a lot of weight, but unfortunately I lack the history to fully understand what's going on and its significance at the time. I think my reaction to the book would have been much more powerful if I could have fully appreciated what was going on politically, and perhaps also culturally. The writing is fairly spare and detached, always third person, and moving from one point-of-view to another fairly rapidly.
But even so, I was glad that I'd forced myself to finally read some literature, rather than another vampire novel, and at 188 pages it went down pretty quickly. Still and all if you're looking for a decent review of this one, I'm afraid I don't have one. Basically the book piqued my curiosity about the author, life in Botswana, and African socialism, but I don't have a ton to say about the story or characters, other than a very non-illuminating, "They were interesting."
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S.C. Butler (not verified)
Tue, 12/29/2009 - 9:43am
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Interesting review. I just
Interesting review. I just finished the book and loved it. Perhaps I'm just old enough to have a (limited) knowledge of the time and history of the place to be able to put it in context, though I know nothing of African village life. A sweet book, written well before the rise of people like Idi Amin and Mugambe.