'Malaika' is not a horror novel, however, it definitely has some haunting moments. It's a cross between 'Out of Africa' by Isak Dinesen and 'The Heart of Darkness' by Joseph Conrad. I'll openly admit that I loved this book!
Thomas, an expat from America, is living in Kenya at the Tanzanian border overlooking the Serengeti. One day, he's watching the sunrise outside his isolated native-style home, drinking coffee, and enjoying a morning smoke, when he has the near-death experience of a lioness approaching him. She paws at his spilled coffee and sniffs at the burning ember of his dropped cigarette, but he is not injured. Thus begins a curious relationship between man and beast, where this lioness continues to visit and he starts to feed it and even invites the big cat into his home.
People who are attracted to dangerous exotic animals, attempting to domestic what is wild, often end up featured in Animal Planet documentaries. Their friends and neighbors will express how this person (usually killed and/or eaten by their pet) thought that they had a special affinity with the animal, that they could control it, how it would never harm them, or others.
Thomas seems to suffer a similar self-delusion, not only does he believe that he is close to this animal, but he imagines that he is communicating with it through his dreams. He brushes aside the warnings from his closest villager friend--who recently lost a relative to a lion attack and who is a survivor of a lion attack, himself. Not even hearing the graphic retelling of this attack or seeing the man's prominent scars is enough to move Thomas from his path.
The author, Van Heerling, is clever and allows the reader to determine, on their own, if domestication has taken place or not, as the novel rushes towards its eventual confrontation of man vs. nature. I delighted in the complexities of Thomas' character and I took joy in deciding if he was a trustworthy narrator or not. Extremely well-written, it's a roaring good read!
Purchase at Amazon here. For a limited time Amazon Prime members may also borrow this novel for free.
People who are attracted to dangerous exotic animals, attempting to domestic what is wild, often end up featured in Animal Planet documentaries. Their friends and neighbors will express how this person (usually killed and/or eaten by their pet) thought that they had a special affinity with the animal, that they could control it, how it would never harm them, or others.
Thomas seems to suffer a similar self-delusion, not only does he believe that he is close to this animal, but he imagines that he is communicating with it through his dreams. He brushes aside the warnings from his closest villager friend--who recently lost a relative to a lion attack and who is a survivor of a lion attack, himself. Not even hearing the graphic retelling of this attack or seeing the man's prominent scars is enough to move Thomas from his path.
The author, Van Heerling, is clever and allows the reader to determine, on their own, if domestication has taken place or not, as the novel rushes towards its eventual confrontation of man vs. nature. I delighted in the complexities of Thomas' character and I took joy in deciding if he was a trustworthy narrator or not. Extremely well-written, it's a roaring good read!
Purchase at Amazon here. For a limited time Amazon Prime members may also borrow this novel for free.
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