Hope, Christopher. Darkest England. MacMillan, 1996.
Reason read: Hope was born in February. Read in his honor.
In the darkness of the great unknown lies the expectancy of necessary exploration; the desire to fill the void with answers to questions not yet asked. 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 to find suitable land for his tribe’s expansion. Booi has 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.
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.
The ability to speak English was a well-treasured accomplishment of our narrator, Booi. He repeats often that he is the only English speaking individual among the tribe and he is self-taught.
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.
Phrases I loved, “for crying in a bucket”,
Author fact: While Hope has written a bunch of other stuff, this is the only thing I am reading for the Challenge.
Book trivia: I am not allowed to quote paragraphs from Darkest England.
Nancy said: Pearl called Darkest England a lighthearted satire. See if you agree.
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “South African Fiction” (p 216).
~*LunaSea*~ 