When the Lion Feeds

I have included When The Lion Feeds because it is the first “grown up” book that I read as a young person.

It was many years ago, but Wilbur Smith’s novel had a big impact on me with his descriptive writing drawing me into the South African setting. The characters in Smith’s novel make for a strong and powerful narrative, and his imagery is captivating.

In many ways, When The Lions Feed is what could be described as a page-turner. I had mentioned in another review that an indicator of a good story is when the reader feels that they… show more.

This 1964 novel aroused international reading interest in Africa, and it achieved this through the swashbuckling tale told by Rhodesian author Wilbur Smith. Awareness of the novel, set in the British colonial era, was no doubt aided by it being banned in my home country, South Africa. I was 14 at the time, and we teenagers had to anxiously await our turn to get hold of a battered (illegal) copy of the raunchy book from some of the more daring parents!

Regarded by many critics as being too “commercial,” this debut novel and the subsequent books dealing with the saga… show more.

This is the debut novel by the iconic Zimbabwean author Wilbur Smith, who lived in South Africa until his recent death at age 88. Animals appear in most of his African novels and I read this book a long time ago. It is more about a family saga in – then – Rhodesia than about lions, but I appreciate how the main character finds comfort and himself in the bush. The simplicity there trumps his riches. There is just something about the African bush that puts everything else in perspective. Okay, he goes ivory hunting and I don’t condone it,… show more.