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Fresh from college in the Netherlands, the author's first assignment as a new employee at Shell is a year-long engagement in Africa, in the Congo and Rwanda. He has travelled around Europe and America, but has never been anywhere like Africa. It is 1964, and many tribes and rebel groups are fighting for control of the area. Also, there is a small but very social group of expatriates and other international employees. During this year, the author will make strong and fleeting friends and lovers, navigate danger, prove himself as a young administrator, and realize that the year is an experience that will change him for the rest of his life.
For a seemingly simple book, this one is remarkably hard to stop reading. The writing is clear and honest, pulling the reader a little closer as the author lays out his story as if he's telling it to his mates at a pub. Reading the book paints a clear picture of the author's adventures in simple sentences with precise descriptions. The life of someone willing to spend considerable time in unknown, remote places with a few others doing the same in the 1960s, while centuries-old feuds are playing out in dangerously close proximity, is fascinating. Over half a century later, the retelling feels just as immediate as the people involved are so real and easy to understand. It is a remarkable snapshot of working internationally for those who have never done so. This book is easy to recommend to any adult who has even the slightest interest in other countries, particularly those interested in Africa or living for an extended time in another part of the world.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review