Monday 24 June 2013

Breath of Africa by Jane Bwye



Breath of Africa by Jane Bwye- My thoughts on it. 


Jane Bwye writes beautifully evocative descriptions of the Kenyan landscape. The heat and dust got to me quite easily as I learned about Kenya in the late 1960s and early 1970s – bringing back vague memories of the Kenyatta period as reported in the newspapers of the era. Lasting and loving relationships of different kinds are explored within the book, some tragic and some happier- racial and cultural differences having a huge bearing on the success of such bondings. The theme of tribal curses runs through the novel but is not depicted in great depth, though the effects on those who believe in a curse are long lasting and poignant. The dilemma of the born and bred in Kenya ‘whites’, who want to remain after independence, is sensitively portrayed.

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