I was attracted to this book because I recently finished Chris Bohjalian’s new novel, “The Heiress. That one take place in Africa’s Serengeti, and I thought that this one could increase my knowledge of a land I know that I will never see first-hand.
The author is a Zulu and lives in South Africa. It’s a world of difference between the Serengeti and the Imfolozi Nature Reserve, where Sicelo volunteered. I’m not sure exactly where this took, other than South Africa.
I did not get much out of this book. It lacks tension. I was not moved when Sicelo’s cousin was dragged away and eaten by a crocodile. And that disturbed me. The event was told from so far away, that this reader did not feel anything other than a small sadness and a shiver of “Dang! That had to hurt!”
Another problem that I encountered was the names of animals, trees, flowers, etc. that I had no idea I was and could not figure it out in the context of the narrative. I had no visuals that helped bring the items into focus.
I was impressed with one fact though. Getting to school was not easy. Sicelo and the other school children had to walk a “daily journey of fourteen kilometres there and fourteen kilometres” home. That’ s roughly 8.69 miles each way and no matter the weather, I can't imagine an American child doing that!
After a while, I felt like I was just reading words and falling asleep faster than I do when reading a book with which I could connect. I kept hoping for engagement, but it never came. Therefore, “Black Lion: Alive in the Wilderness” receives 1 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.
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