Darkest England

Christopher Hope

Seán said that he felt that this book brought the group back to Doreen's choice The Nature of Blood as 'Darkest England' also deals with racism and hatred. This book is written by a South African and starts off being narrated by a character who is a UN observer during the first free election in South Africa. However, what the book really deals with is the history and expectation of a Bushman tribe. In the 19th century the British made a promise to the tribe to protect them from the Boer and now in the 1990s the Bushmen want to hold Britain to its promise. In order to do this they mount an expedition to modern Britain. The bulk of the novel is therefore set in Britain and is written from the perspective of the bushman who comes to Britain.

Seán said that the style was difficult to get into as it was written in short, simple sentences of the character who was the only member of his tribe to know English. The story takes us through the Bushman's views of 1980s/1990s Britain. He passes through the detention centres and the legal system that deals with immigration. Despite its awfulness the character mis-interprets what is happening to him and is grateful, for example, for a meal he is given and the 'special' treatment he receives. The book relies on the fact that the character never sees through his expectations to see that his treatment is unacceptable. He always puts what is happening to him down to good motives. Seán did not highly recommend the book. He felt that it had a strong message but was not literary in its writing style.

Doreen had read other books by the writer and felt that they were very good.
Seán 26/4/98

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