Christopher Hope

This is the mystery of David Mungo Booi, the orphan child who survived a fire as an infant. He has gone to seek help from the Queen of England and subsequently disappeared. His journals are all that is left. They are returned to the tribe in a brown suitcase carried by a white woman in a blue hat.
The ability to speak English was a well-treasured accomplishment of our narrator. He repeats often that he is the only English speaking individual among the tribe and he is self-taught.
What became of the boy after his entire family was burned to death? Where can one find the King of Bongo-Bongo-Land? What is the true color of ostrich bile? Could a settlement in England be established? Can Humpty-Bloody-Dumpty be put back together again? What is the answer to cultural identity if there is only muscular gloom? The belief that if you had been to Cape Town you knew the ways of the world. What is the Great Paper? Does Old Auntie with Diamonds in Her Hair know the truth? Speaking of truth, I wanted to laugh more when reading Darkest England. I wanted the satire to be bitingly funny. Instead I found it to be more dark than snark. In hindsight, the prison scene was kind of funny. Steel bracelets around ones wrist, being taken from one place to another in a "courtesy" vehicle, the stark "apartment", having a toilet next to the bed was a luxury, and best of all, the devotion to privacy - all doors locked behind us.
Maybe if I had bonded with any character it would have made a difference. I'm not sure I liked anyone even a little bit.… (mehr)

Christopher Hope grew up a member of a minority within a minority of South Africa. His family was white, but English and Catholic, rather the ruling Afrikaan and Dutch Reform group. The Afrikaans distrusted the English for being insufficiently tough on the black majority. The book begins with Hope ending his self-imposed exile. His first novel, Separate Development was banned by the Nationalist government. Hope returns to his homeland for the 1988 elections. This would be the last election the Nationalist party would win. The Nationalist party was responsible for the development and implementation of the apartheid system.
Christopher Hope tells the story of South African's recent history through the story of his growing up. The Nationalists rise to power when Hope is about five or six. It bears repeating that the Nationalist did not take power in a putsch, but were elected (although of course the black majority did not yet have the franchise). For me at least, history told in this personal manner had much more impact than an traditional, impersonal history.
I'd recommend this as an introduction to South Africa history.… (mehr)