A retired journalist travels back to the Africa he once knew in search of his missing son, also a journalist, in novelist and screenwriter (Rollerball and Mountains of the Moon) Harrison's atmospheric and provocative drama. Widower Will Hobbs, an American living in London, has begun to feel lost in retirement. When his competitive son, Buck, arrives with his wife, Key, and son to announce that he is taking over Will's old beatAthe African bureauAthe elder Hobbs is troubled both by his resentment of his offspring and his attraction to his daughter-in-law. Shortly after the eager and stubborn Buck leaves for assignment in dangerous, war-torn Rwanda, Will nearly gives in to his dangerous passion for the invitingly sensuous Key. But Buck's disappearance, a bloodstained passport, camera case and numerous false leads propel Will toward Kibungu, in eastern Rwanda, where Buck is believed to be. Present-day Africa is hostile, radically different from the continent Will remembers: "the old romance had given way to horror." In Hemingwayesque style, Will heads alone out of the city and into dangerous countryside. He begins traveling with a small Hutu militia, led by the seemingly friendly and philosophical Papa Ngiza. But Papa's rebels turn out to be a pack of monstrous child killers and Will their pseudo-prisoner. Seeking deliverance, Will must struggle against his temptation to become a killer himself. The closer he gets to solving Buck's disappearance, the more distant and elusive his escape from Africa and return to Key and his grandson appear. Half travel narrative, half thriller, Harrison's suspenseful tale provides a compelling picture of a continent in turbulence and a journalist rediscovering his voice and his identity. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
When retired reporter Will Hobbs learns his son Buck is being sent on assignment to Africa, he is concerned. Will spent his career covering the volatile territory Buck is headed into and the kinds of danger he is likely to encounter. And Buck leaves a family behind, just as Will did years ago; and Will has feelings that go beyond fatherly affection for Buck's attractive young wife. When news comes of Buck's disappearance, Will is compelled to risk his own life to find him or to find out what has happened to him. Once inside the border of civil war^-ravaged Rwanda, Will is kidnapped by some very whacked-out "militia" and is forced to witness incredible violence, torture, and gleeful killing in the name of vengeance. As he struggles to survive and to keep his wits about him, Will has an opportunity to take a look at his life and to determine what he wants for his future. Harrison is the author of several novels, short stories, and screenplays. Grace Fill
See all Editorial Reviews
