WHERE THE WEAVER BIRDS FLY.

WHERE THE WEAVER BIRDS FLY by JOHN ELLWOOD NICHOLSON.


In small-town England, struggling single mother Jane, receives a proposition she can't refuse. Robert, an expat on annual leave from Africa, is determined to leave with a wife and he's set his sights on Jane. She is a realist, but he's offering her a whole new world. Soon, she and her six-year-old daughter, pack up and head for a luxurious life full of parties, cocktail soirees and swimming pool fun (popular with families and swingers alike!)


But Jane isn't one of 'the wives' content with the claustrophobic confines of the compound. She hungers for the real Africa and volunteers at a slum project. This prompts her to use her journalistic background and cunning to investigate on the spot corruption, making some very dangerous enemies along the way. Overcoming confrontations, she won't stop until justice is done .... but justice has a very different meaning in Africa. Has she bitten off more than she can chew?
...... Outer back cover.


FIRST SENTENCE (Chapter 1): "What does my daddy look like?"


MEMORABLE MOMENT (Page 221): Again, he told them nobody else ever drove his car so ...... they arrested the car.
"Will the naughty car be going to court the," Jane laughed.
"No, but the car has been fined one thousand shillings."
"They're clever aren't they? They know very well I'll have to pay if I want my car back, so let that be a lesson to you. Don't let your car out on its own."

MY THOUGHTS: Set in a divided country riddled with corruption and tribal and cultural differences this is an eye-opening novel of those that have and those who have not. 


Very much the story one woman's journey as a single parent living in England through her first year living as a married woman in Africa, it was amazing to see how Jane grew and developed as a character. 


Though often witty and occasionally shocking, it is a story of struggle and yet hope and is, on the whole, an interesting read that gave a fascinating insight into both the somewhat decadent lifestyle as experienced by the expatriates living in a compound as well as that lived by those living in the slums. However,  what spoilt it for me was the author constantly bringing up the politics of foreign aid which though doubtlessly an important matter I felt he belaboured to the point where it all became a little tiring. 


DISCLAIMER: Read and reviewed on behalf of NEWBOOKS MAGAZINE, I was merely asked for my honest opinion, no financial compensation was asked for nor given.