The Old Drift

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Electrifying, playful, ambitious, brilliant a Zambian debut novel that follows three generations of three families, telling the story of a nation, and of the grand sweep of timeIt s difficult to think of another novel that is at once so sweepingly ambitious and so intricately patterned, delivering the pleasures of saga and poetry in equal measure The Old Drift is an endlessly innovative, voraciously brilliant book, and Namwali Serpell is among the most distinctive and exciting writers to emerge in years Garth GreenwellOn the banks of the Zambezi River, a few miles from the majestic Victoria Falls, there was once a colonial settlement called The Old Drift Here begins the epic story of a small African nation, told by a mysterious swarm like chorus that calls itself man s greatest nemesis The tale A playful panorama of history, fairytale, romance and science fiction The moral To err is human.In 1904, in a smoky room at the hotel across the river, an Old Drifter named Percy M Clark, foggy with fever, makes a mistake that entangles the fates of an Italian hotelier and an African busboy This sets off a cycle of unwitting retribution between three Zambian families black, white, brown as they collide and converge over the course of the century, into the present and beyond As the generations pass, their lives their triumphs, errors, losses and hopes form a symphony about what it means to be human.From a woman covered with hair and another plagued with endless tears, to forbidden love affairs and fiery political ones, to homegrown technological marvels like Afronauts, microdrones and viral vaccines this gripping, unforgettable novel sweeps over the years and the globe, subverting expectations along the way Exploding with colour and energy, The Old Drift is a testament to our yearning to create and cross borders, and a meditation on the slow, grand passage of time. New Read eBook The Old Drift By Namwali Serpell – kino-fada.fr The book is full of juxtapositions British colonialism vs African revolutionaries, 3rd world poverty vs high tech drones, beautiful powerful writing vs meaningless ramblings.I really enjoyed some of the true historic events the author weaved into the story I travelled to Zambia about 5 years ago and read up about its history but nowhere was it stated that Zambia had its own space program in the 1960 s A revolutionary, Edward Nkolose headed up the Zambia National Academy of Science, Space Rese The book is full of juxtapositions British colonialism vs African revolutionaries, 3rd world poverty vs high tech drones, beautiful powerful writing vs meaningless ramblings.I really enjoyed some of the true historic events the author weaved into the story I travelled to Zambia about 5 years ago and read up about its history bu...Thankyou to NetGalley, Random House UK, Vintage Publishing, Hogarth and the author, Namwali Serpell, for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of The Old Drift in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion I have been a bit slow in writin this review regarding this debut novel I actually read this story a week ago, and found it difficult to put into words what I thought about it. I was captivated It was a well written story spanning three generations I thought it was an incredible Thankyou to NetGalley, Random House UK, Vintage Publishing, Hogarth and the author, Namwali Serpell, for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of The Old Drift in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion I have been a bit slow in writin this review regarding this debut novel I actually read this story a week ago, and found it difficult to put into words what I thought about it. I was captivated It was a well written sto...Epic Three generations and three families in Zambia with cleverly intertwined lives and interests The story twirls around the Zambezi River and the dam built by Italian colonizers the dam and river are a reoccurring point but not a focus What a talent we are meeting in Ms Serpell, her ability to play with language and weave a story so complex that is riveting, smart, often humorous, sometimes absurd and easy to follow That s right I kept the families characters straight throughout, for Epic Three generations and three families in Zambia with cleverly intertwined lives and interests The story twirls around the Zambezi River and the dam built by Italian colonizers the dam and river are a reoccurring po...It almost seems impossible to review a novel that s over 650 pages long..I mean how to begin The Old Drift caught me up immediately into a world of British explorers trying to tame the wilds of Africa Namwali Serpell s Zambian novel surpasses visual equivalents You are in Africa with these characters Just when you ve become enthralled, Serpell switches the scene to an equally enticing British tennis player with an affliction I ll let you discover From there you ll be treated a chapter with It almost seems impossible to review a novel that s over 650 pages long..I mean how to begin The Old Drift caught me up immediately into a world of British explorers trying t...The Old Drift is an epic novel spanning genres and generations that tells the story of three families in Zambia and how their lives interact along with politics, science, and colonialism It begins in 1904 and moves across the twentieth century and into the future, with a mysterious swarm chorus that floods into the gap between each part.At first, the novel seems to be the kind of book that entwines the narratives of characters across generations, showing human error, life, and passion However, The Old Drift is an epic novel spanning genres and generations that tells the story of three families in Zambia and how their lives interact along with politics, science, and colonialism It begins in 1904 and moves across the twentieth century and into the future, with a mysterious swarm chorus that floods into the gap between each part.At first, the novel seems to be the kind of book that entwines the narratives of characters across generations,...This begins in 1904, telling the tale of white British pioneers in Rhodesia and the natives Initially there s a lot of hunting and the use of the N word seemed to be thrown in to show how awful the English were with their colonial imperialism.However, it then settles into the intriguing tales of families of different backgrounds but all linked in some way to early Rhodesia It covers generations through loves, marriages, heartbreak with tales of politics in Africa and the birth of a new nat This begins in 1904, telling the tale of white Briti...The Old Drift by author Namwali Serpell is a high Egbert novel spanning many generations It covers everything in life from love to loss in an outstanding voice Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an arc copy of The Old Drift in exchange for an honest review.Found this book rather challenging Loved the vibrancy of the coverAfraid this book was not for me Thank to netgalley for an early in return for an honest review

The Old Drift
  • 06 February 2018
  • Hardcover
  • 576 pages
  • 1781090491
  • Namwali Serpell
  • The Old Drift