Customer Reviews

On the Edge of the Great Rift: Three Novels of Africa

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This is actually a compilation of three previously-published novels, set in sub-Saharan Africa. To the best of my knowledge, all three are out of print, so the publisher has done the reader a service by re-printing all three in this volume.

Each of the novels in this volume has certain merits, and all three are worth your time. As a whole, they serve to encapsulate the experience of being a foreigner in Africa, in the 1970s. By foreigner I don't just mean Caucasian; the stories are told from diverse points of view. My personal favorite is the one about a group of women running a boarding school in upcountry Uganda, but anyone who either likes the writings of Paul Theroux or has an interest in Africa would find that all three stories are worth his while.

I am very glad I found this paperback at the library and took a chance on it. The first novel, Fong and the Indians, concerns a hapless petty merchant in East Africa. It is delighfully politically incorrect while maintaining a sympathetic opinion of the underlying humanity of all the characters. The third, Jungle Lovers, could have been written by a heavy drinker attracted to African women, because, well, the protagonist has these characteristics. It is also well-paced and mixes politics, plot, and character quite well. I am currently reading the "second" placed novel and it is also delightfully juicy and descriptive. Overall, these books made me want to read more novels set in Africa, by Africans as well as visitors.