Books

I have recently finished reading a couple of books which really have nothing in common other than their African locations, but which sit well together as a reading experience. The first was "Dark Star Safari" by Paul Theroux and the other "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" by Alexander McCall Smith.
The first was the relating of an overland journey from Cairo to Cape Town by the author using only the local means of transport and having no pre-set itinerary. He travelled through Egypt, The Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa, many of which, whilst being some of the most beautiful places on earth, are also amongst the most dangerous; particularly for the independent traveller.
Paul Theroux had worked as a teacher some 40 years before in Malawi and as a lecturer in Uganda and was trying to rediscover some of the people and places he had known before. The resulting book is extremely well written and it soon becomes clear that the Africa of today is very different to the one he had left in the 60's. The impression given is that progress has passed them all by and been replaced by corruption, famine and disease, the latter two largely as a result of the first. However, it is not a depressing book, and it is obvious that he loves the countries that he passes through and the people that he meets. It is not a picture entirely of gloom, and despite all the difficulties he encounters, he does make it to the end and survive.
What is clear is that the areas that western travellers are taken to on commercial safaries have little in common with the Africa witnessed daily by the inhabitants, many of whom seem to want to get away. I would rate it as a very good read, not only for the armchair traveller.

Book Pics

The other book is one I was not sure if I would like, but was tempted by the sheer number of his books that were in the best selling lists. Most of the action takes place in Botswana, a place not on the agenda for Paul Theroux. The picture painted here, although not glossing over the fact that it is a very different place to western society and inhabited by a people who have very different priorities, you do get the overriding feeling that it is an altogether better place than you get by reading the other book.
After the first chapter or two I was still not sure that I was going to enjoy the book, but suddenly Mma Ramotswe gets under your skin and it was not a book I wanted to put down. There are shades of Miss Marple about it, but somehow more believable. Another good read, and I may well be tempted to try a few more in the series in a while. The author was born and educated in Zimbabwe and now lives in Scotland, but has worked in several African universities includind Botswana, and brings a quite refreshing view to lighten any lingering adverse impressions brought by the Theroux book. A good bedtime read, not too demanding.