Out of Darkness, Shining Light

One of the best examples of “history from below” I’ve read.

It tells the well-known story of David Livingstone’s last journey–how after he died in tropical Africa, his servants marched his body across the continent to the port of Dar es Salaam, so that it could be shipped back to England and buried there with appropriate pomp and reverence. This forms the framework for an utterly original novel that presents this epic trek from the perspective of two of Livingstone’s slave servants: his feisty Muslim cook, Halima, who brings her gossipy sardonic perspective to the enterprise, and his devout and… show more.

Gappah’s book starts with a startling fact: when Scottish doctor and missionary David Livingstone died in Zambia in 1873, his large party of fellow travelers—almost all African—carried his body over a thousand miles to Zanzibar so it could be transported to Britain for burial. 

Zimbabwean author Petina Gappah recreates this amazing journey through a series of overlapping voices, bringing the reader into the perspectives, motivations, and experiences of people usually portrayed as objects rather than actors in the colonial process. Her characters, especially the young cook, Halima, are both fascinating and entertaining.

The book prompts readers to take a fresh… show more.