- Paperback: 240 pages
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd (5 Aug 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1847378234
- ISBN-13: 978-1847378231
- Product Dimensions: 15.1 x 2.4 x 23.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 773,689 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Militia seize an innocent captive and subject him to a nightmarish overland journey that feels as though it will never end. Meanwhile, a lonely white schoolteacher wrestles personal demons whilst attempting to overcome the everyday difficulties of a life in which power cuts last for months at a time, homes are left without running water, brawls break out over even the most basic necessities and an atmosphere of fear and intimidation presides. Which of them is in the gravest danger, and does either have the power to escape their fate? In this highly original, searing and timely new novel, we witness the devastating effects of a country's economic and moral collapse. In a world where greed, barbarism, anarchy and lawlessness are rife, how do the honest survive? Is it possible to keep a conscience when all those around you have lost theirs?
About the Author
Ian Holding is a 31-year-old white Zimbabwean schoolteacher based in Harare, where he continues to live, work and write. His critically acclaimed debut novel, Unfeeling, was published in 2005 and shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize in 2006.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
"There is no easier killer of an optimist than the cold, cruel workings of an African `democracy,' "
29 Nov 2011
Format:Paperback
Zimbabwean writer Ian Holding, a young teacher in Harare, is a white settler who has decided to stay in Zimbabwe, a country which has been riven with violence for many years. Robert Mugabe, a leader of Zimbabwe's liberation movement against the British, still remains in power after more than thirty years, supported by his army. Despite the defeat of his party in the 2008 elections, the opposition, wanting peace, has signed an agreement for a unity party which allows Mugabe to retain power. The farms of white settlers who have lived in Zimbabwe for generations have been seized and parceled out to political supporters of the President, and the country's GDP has declined by 40% since 2000.
Here Holding writes two parallel stories, divided into four parts. The first part is a dramatic, horrifying, and immensely sad story of a post-apocalyptic "society" in which a few survivors try to stay alive in a bombed out and completely devastated city. Armed with superior weapons, they have learned that survival of the fittest has new meanings in this world which depends on killing before they are killed themselves. In the midst of a famine, they don't even know who their enemies are - they could be factions of the militia; offshoots of the army, police, or the opposition; and black or white. dA man picking among the ruins of a garden looking for roots or any other kind of food, simply to stay alive, suddenly finds himself with a rope around his neck, being dragged off. For days, the captive, who is not fed, works all day pulling a heavy cart, and the others continue their scavenging and eventually head out of the city.
Part Two shifts to the journal of Ian, a teacher whose family has lived on a farm in the highland for decades before emigrating. Only Ian remains behind. As he describes his life as a white man in the highlands, he describes the abuses to which he and the other white residents have been subjected. He also, however, reflects some of the insensitivities of the white settlers themselves, and the reader quickly sees how blind Ian is to the basic humanity of his own servants.
Part III continues the journeys of the captive "beast of burden" and the young men, the man, and the woman who are using him. Their lives, as they try to stay alive and get someplace "safe," are constantly in danger, food and water are always in doubt, and the sights that greet them of pillage, murder, and devastation of villages never change. Part IV returns to Ian the teacher (just as the author is Ian, a teacher), who continues to write his journal about the life he sees around him. Eventually, he has a life-changing experience, but he is not sure how to deal with it. As he ponders his role in the problem and his possible role in a solution, his personal weaknesses become clear. Dramatic, horrifying, and filled with vibrant language which swirls around, this novel is a heartfelt cry for understanding in a place where it appears to be rare. Whether or not people like the author will be able to survive in this "society," which seems to lack any sense of a common humanity, remains to be seen. Mary Whipple
Here Holding writes two parallel stories, divided into four parts. The first part is a dramatic, horrifying, and immensely sad story of a post-apocalyptic "society" in which a few survivors try to stay alive in a bombed out and completely devastated city. Armed with superior weapons, they have learned that survival of the fittest has new meanings in this world which depends on killing before they are killed themselves. In the midst of a famine, they don't even know who their enemies are - they could be factions of the militia; offshoots of the army, police, or the opposition; and black or white. dA man picking among the ruins of a garden looking for roots or any other kind of food, simply to stay alive, suddenly finds himself with a rope around his neck, being dragged off. For days, the captive, who is not fed, works all day pulling a heavy cart, and the others continue their scavenging and eventually head out of the city.
Part Two shifts to the journal of Ian, a teacher whose family has lived on a farm in the highland for decades before emigrating. Only Ian remains behind. As he describes his life as a white man in the highlands, he describes the abuses to which he and the other white residents have been subjected. He also, however, reflects some of the insensitivities of the white settlers themselves, and the reader quickly sees how blind Ian is to the basic humanity of his own servants.
Part III continues the journeys of the captive "beast of burden" and the young men, the man, and the woman who are using him. Their lives, as they try to stay alive and get someplace "safe," are constantly in danger, food and water are always in doubt, and the sights that greet them of pillage, murder, and devastation of villages never change. Part IV returns to Ian the teacher (just as the author is Ian, a teacher), who continues to write his journal about the life he sees around him. Eventually, he has a life-changing experience, but he is not sure how to deal with it. As he ponders his role in the problem and his possible role in a solution, his personal weaknesses become clear. Dramatic, horrifying, and filled with vibrant language which swirls around, this novel is a heartfelt cry for understanding in a place where it appears to be rare. Whether or not people like the author will be able to survive in this "society," which seems to lack any sense of a common humanity, remains to be seen. Mary Whipple
Format:Paperback
This is a well written book that explores and challenges concepts of enslavement, brutality and how we value others - the two narrators show us the world through their eyes, both fixated on their own situation for very different reasons. Really hard to review without straying into the twists and turns that link their two stories together in the last third. Give it a go!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
"There is no easier killer of an optimist than the cold, cruel workings of an African `democracy,' "
29 Nov 2011
Format:Paperback
Zimbabwean writer Ian Holding, a young teacher in Harare, is a white settler who has decided to stay in Zimbabwe, a country which has been riven with violence for many years. Robert Mugabe, a leader of Zimbabwe's liberation movement against the British, still remains in power after more than thirty years, supported by his army. Despite the defeat of his party in the 2008 elections, the opposition, wanting peace, has signed an agreement for a unity party which allows Mugabe to retain power. The farms of white settlers who have lived in Zimbabwe for generations have been seized and parceled out to political supporters of the President, and the country's GDP has declined by 40% since 2000.
Here Holding writes two parallel stories, divided into four parts. The first part is a dramatic, horrifying, and immensely sad story of a post-apocalyptic "society" in which a few survivors try to stay alive in a bombed out and completely devastated city. Armed with superior weapons, they have learned that survival of the fittest has new meanings in this world which depends on killing before they are killed themselves. In the midst of a famine, they don't even know who their enemies are - they could be factions of the militia; offshoots of the army, police, or the opposition; and black or white. dA man picking among the ruins of a garden looking for roots or any other kind of food, simply to stay alive, suddenly finds himself with a rope around his neck, being dragged off. For days, the captive, who is not fed, works all day pulling a heavy cart, and the others continue their scavenging and eventually head out of the city.
Part Two shifts to the journal of Ian, a teacher whose family has lived on a farm in the highland for decades before emigrating. Only Ian remains behind. As he describes his life as a white man in the highlands, he describes the abuses to which he and the other white residents have been subjected. He also, however, reflects some of the insensitivities of the white settlers themselves, and the reader quickly sees how blind Ian is to the basic humanity of his own servants.
Part III continues the journeys of the captive "beast of burden" and the young men, the man, and the woman who are using him. Their lives, as they try to stay alive and get someplace "safe," are constantly in danger, food and water are always in doubt, and the sights that greet them of pillage, murder, and devastation of villages never change. Part IV returns to Ian the teacher (just as the author is Ian, a teacher), who continues to write his journal about the life he sees around him. Eventually, he has a life-changing experience, but he is not sure how to deal with it. As he ponders his role in the problem and his possible role in a solution, his personal weaknesses become clear. Dramatic, horrifying, and filled with vibrant language which swirls around, this novel is a heartfelt cry for understanding in a place where it appears to be rare. Whether or not people like the author will be able to survive in this "society," which seems to lack any sense of a common humanity, remains to be seen. Mary Whipple
Here Holding writes two parallel stories, divided into four parts. The first part is a dramatic, horrifying, and immensely sad story of a post-apocalyptic "society" in which a few survivors try to stay alive in a bombed out and completely devastated city. Armed with superior weapons, they have learned that survival of the fittest has new meanings in this world which depends on killing before they are killed themselves. In the midst of a famine, they don't even know who their enemies are - they could be factions of the militia; offshoots of the army, police, or the opposition; and black or white. dA man picking among the ruins of a garden looking for roots or any other kind of food, simply to stay alive, suddenly finds himself with a rope around his neck, being dragged off. For days, the captive, who is not fed, works all day pulling a heavy cart, and the others continue their scavenging and eventually head out of the city.
Part Two shifts to the journal of Ian, a teacher whose family has lived on a farm in the highland for decades before emigrating. Only Ian remains behind. As he describes his life as a white man in the highlands, he describes the abuses to which he and the other white residents have been subjected. He also, however, reflects some of the insensitivities of the white settlers themselves, and the reader quickly sees how blind Ian is to the basic humanity of his own servants.
Part III continues the journeys of the captive "beast of burden" and the young men, the man, and the woman who are using him. Their lives, as they try to stay alive and get someplace "safe," are constantly in danger, food and water are always in doubt, and the sights that greet them of pillage, murder, and devastation of villages never change. Part IV returns to Ian the teacher (just as the author is Ian, a teacher), who continues to write his journal about the life he sees around him. Eventually, he has a life-changing experience, but he is not sure how to deal with it. As he ponders his role in the problem and his possible role in a solution, his personal weaknesses become clear. Dramatic, horrifying, and filled with vibrant language which swirls around, this novel is a heartfelt cry for understanding in a place where it appears to be rare. Whether or not people like the author will be able to survive in this "society," which seems to lack any sense of a common humanity, remains to be seen. Mary Whipple
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