By Joanna Garrett
Wilson introduces the main
character, Bruce Medway, the location – Cotonou, West Africa, and the story
Medway gets caught up in. I had to keep reading just to find out what would
happen next. The language is spare on adjectives, yet still creates a distinct
picture in the reader’s mind – ‘I used to live in London…Now I live in this
warm, damp hole in the armpit of Africa and it suits me.’
The book begins with deliberate
slowness, and Wilson captures the frustration and inevitability of waiting. The
opening scene has enough detail to explain the story, with a bit of humour
thrown in –‘…an Oriental crew leaned on their elbows, waiting…Above us, on the
roof, a couple of vultures were waiting for someone to make a mistake crossing
the road…We were all waiting. This is Africa where everybody has mastered the
art of waiting.’
The rest of the story is
fast-paced, and although the characters are a bit shady, Wilson's depictions encourage the reader to sympathize
with them. The ending is short and sharp, making me think ‘Wait! It’s not
finished!’ This is a clever device, reminding me of novels by Elmore Leonard –
the reader is deliberately left hanging, leaving ‘What happens next?’ to the reader's
imagination.
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