Mystery and Mayhem in Kenya

 Following is a review of An Open Heart by Harry Kraus, David Cook, Colorado Springs, CO., 2013.

This novel combines elements of medicine, religion, mysticism, witchcraft, political intrigue, corruption and marital tension into a fast paced readable novel.  The story is set alternately in Richmond Virginia and Kijabe Kenya.  The plot revolves around Jace Rawlings, an American surgeon, raised as a missionary kid in Kenya, who returns to Kijabe to start an open heart surgery practice. Hence the title, which also refers to Jace’s need to come to terms with his past and to open his heart to new revelations. He is burdened with a load of guilt with regard to his dead sister and to events in Virginia for which he seeks expiation in Kenya.

However, Jace inexplicably comes under attack from evil forces and the plot of the novel unwinds the whys and wherefores for such pressures.  The tale backtracks to his estranged marriage in Richmond and his wife Heather’s questioning Jace’s love and truthfulness. He also poses to himself some of the same questions.

The Kenya setting is impeccable. While several of the Kenyan characters are overblown to suit the plot, others, especially the minor players are perfectly realistic. Those who know Kenya will nod in appreciation of the accuracy of the nuances such folks bring to the story.  

Authors are admonished to “write what you know,” and Harry Kraus has done just that. He is a surgeon who works in Kenya.  Obviously the plot is fabricated, but the details are fairly realistic.  The only discordant note I spotted was that while the corrupt politician and his on-call witch doctor are Luos, the witch doctor operated out of Kisii, which is not in Luoland. Perhaps Kisii is a hot bed of evil practioners, but it is not where I would expect a Luo witchdoctor to reside

. 

In sum, An Open Heart pulls the reader along into the story. It is a fun read

Newfoundland Revisited

Following is a review of Sweetland by Michael Crummey, Liveright Publishing Company, NY, 2014.

In preparation for a trip to Newfoundland several years ago I read a wonderful novel entitled Galore by Michael Crummey.  That story encapsulated a sense of the island and the people who lived there with their peculiarities and foibles.  It was an extremely well told tale.  So I was pleased to find a newer book by the same author set again in Newfoundland.  Like Galore, Sweetland deserves plaudits. 

 The plot of the novel is fairly simple. A village on an outlying island is fading away and the government decides to relocate all the residents to the mainland (which, of course, is also an island, although much, much larger).  The hitch is that all of the 100 or so residents must accept the government’s offer.  Several, including the story’s protagonist, Moses Sweetland, stubbornly refuse, but they are ultimately pressured into acceptance by their neighbors.  However, following the death of his great nephew Jesse, Sweetland changes his mind, fakes his own death and stays behind to eke out a solitary existence. 

The beauty of the story is in the characters, dimples and warts included, mostly recalled through the memories of Moses Sweetland.  The islanders were a peculiar bunch, as is Sweetland himself.  The tapestry jerks forward and backward with various anecdotes and pieces of history fleshing out the tale in a sporadic fashion.  Ultimately, of course, Sweetland has to come to terms with himself, his own past, his relationships and his ghosts. Along the way the reader is pulled into a better understanding not just of the hard scrabble life on an out island, but of the complex web of human ties that bind and blind relationships.