Seeing Double - Hardcover

Wilmot, Patrick

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312342632 ISBN 13: 9780312342630

Verlag: Thomas Dunne Books, 2006

Inhaltsangabe

All is not well in the West African State of Niagra. The General---the Unique Miracle of the Century---has banned all but country and western music; a giant statue of Elvis desecrates the sacred Amuz Rock; street children are terrorized by the General's disposal units, and someone is conducting experiments on unwitting Evangelical Christians. In Xanadu, Bob Marley, the sign painter, draws portraits that are more real than the real, more human than human, and longs for the mother stolen from him by Idi Amin Ogwu.
The nation rejoices when idealistic young army officers stage a bloodless coup, but the revolution and dreams of a utopian democracy are shortlived. An American-led "coalition of the willing" sponsors a countercoup and reinstates the General. The young idealists are rounded up, tortured, and murdered. Forced to flee to secret caves, the girlfriends, wives, and sisters of the revolutionaries gather together a guerrilla army of woman and children and prepare to wage a very unorthodox war against the General and his powerful allies.
Seeing Double is a provocative contemporary tale of dictatorship, kleptocracy, globalization, and greed. It is also a story of idealism, love, gangs, country and western music, Elvis, and war against terror.
With caustic humor and keen observation, Seeing Double is a biting satire that manages to be uncompromising in its analysis of world events and the African continent.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Patrick Wilmot is a graduate of Yale and Vanderbilt Universities. He taught sociology at Ahmadu University, Nigeria, for eighteen years. An outspoken critic of the military government there, he was kidnapped by security police in 1988 and deported to England. He is the author of several books of poetry and academic and nonfiction works. He lives in London and this is his first novel.

Aus dem Klappentext

All is not well in the West African State of Niagra. The General---the Unique Miracle of the Century---has banned all but country and western music; a giant statue of Elvis desecrates the sacred Amuz Rock; street children are terrorized by the General s disposal units, and someone is conducting experiments on unwitting Evangelical Christians. In Xanadu, Bob Marley, the sign painter, draws portraits that are more real than the real, more human than human, and longs for the mother stolen from him by Idi Amin Ogwu.
The nation rejoices when idealistic young army officers stage a bloodless coup, but the revolution and dreams of a utopian democracy are shortlived. An American-led coalition of the willing sponsors a countercoup and reinstates the General. The young idealists are rounded up, tortured, and murdered. Forced to flee to secret caves, the girlfriends, wives, and sisters of the revolutionaries gather together a guerrilla army of woman and children and prepare to wage a very unorthodox war against the General and his powerful allies.
Seeing Double is a provocative contemporary tale of dictatorship, kleptocracy, globalization, and greed. It is also a story of idealism, love, gangs, country and western music, Elvis, and war against terror.
With caustic humor and keen observation, Seeing Double is a biting satire that manages to be uncompromising in its analysis of world events and the African continent.

Rezensionen

A Londoner who taught sociology in Nigeria for 18 years (before being kidnapped and deported by the government in 1988), Wilmot has created in his debut, an erudite political satire that is as exhausting as it is rewarding. Readers will first encounter a map that depicts the imaginary nation of Niagra (bordered by Texas, Neverland and the Sea of Oil) and indicates the location of the country's Elvis statue, mass grave and rock castle. Niagra, as it turns out, is actually in Africa (it abuts Nigeria) and is home to a brutal, corrupt government (led by "The Life President of Niagra and Unique Miracle of the Twentieth Century") that's fighting a losing battle against revolutionaries. Idealists with dreams of democracy stage a successful coup, but before they can get around to setting up their government, the United States begins drumming up international support for a counterinsurgency. The story, obviously, is incidental to the author's venomous critique of American foreign policy and African state-sponsored oppression. Wilmot's disparate cultural references (Toby Keith, the Tuskegee syphilis project, Will Smith, Star Trek) don't always click, but the energy he brings to this endeavor is inspiring. (Aug.)
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Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Thomas Dunne Books
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2006
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0312342632
• ISBN 13: 9780312342630
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 416
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar