Showing 1-2 out of 2 reviews.

• What an outstanding debut novel! Jason Wallace has created a plot that draws you in from the opening page as 13 year-old Robert, newly arrived from England, witnesses the fear-enducing spectacle of the Prime Minister's motorcade in the streets of Harare, Zimbabwe. The setting is early 1980's when Robert Mugabe is Prime Minister and the country is still reeling after years of civil war. Robert, whose father works at the British Embassy, is sent to a prestigious local boarding school and it is here that the story unfolds. Robert's initial floundering as he attempts to fit in with the right crowd and makes wrong choices is as believable as the school setting, with power-hungry prefects determined to make the younger students suffer. The dialogue so accurately reflects the mix of languages, English, Afrikaans and Shona, that many young Zimbabweans use and the delightfully unique slang that echoes my own childhood in Zimbabwe. There is no watering-down of shocking attitudes and cruelty, but Jason Wallace manages to create a cast of characters that are both complex and believable. As the story draws to a close, the devastating reality of what is planned becomes clear and now, knowing what we do of the country's suffering, the question posed at the start is perhaps one for the reader to ponder as well. A brilliant book and one that will remain with me for a long time.

  5.00 out of 5

  erademeyer

• This is an astonishingly powerful book with an aura of menace and tragedy running all the way through it. A compelling and devastating read.

  5.00 out of 5

  Upthealbion

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