Wednesday 27 January 2016

Kindred Passage - Gregory Gourlay


This was a book I was hesitant about at first glance. It took some time for the cover to grow on me, but only a moment for me to become immersed in the story.

Two stories that are set one-hundred years apart, running parallel until they finally converge; the past foreshadowing the present, and the present echoing the past. Kindred Passage is the tale of Ken Mallory and Aaron Pritchard in 1960's Africa, and Lucas Lindsay and Adrian Reese in 1860's Africa. Following a family tragedy, Mallory moves himself to Zambia, as his great-grandfather had before him. Soon partnered with Aaron Pritchard out of necessity, Mallory discovers a mounting depravity that makes the wickedness of 1960's Zambia pale by comparison. Meanwhile, Lucas Lindsay and Adrian Reese twist through disturbingly analogous circumstances a century beforehand, against a backdrop of war, ivory hunting, and human bondage.

Kindred Passage pushed me outside of my comfort zone with its authentic and unapologetic depiction of Africa during both the 1860's and 1960's. The dialogue is frank and all portrayals are wholly credible to the time, which lends to both the integrity of the story and its author. Gregory Gourlay is a master of description, making Africa itself a virtual character in its own right—as absorbing and detailed as Mallory, Pritchard, Lindsay, and Reese. Kindred Passage balances perfectly between bold and beautiful, gritty and gripping. It is absolutely riveting and I wholeheartedly recommend this book, giving it an easy five stars.

FIVE STARS

Amazon Link: Kindred Passage




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