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A review by kimbofo
Serengotti by Eugen Bacon
3.0
Eugen Bacon’s Serengotti is a rare and unique novel.
The author is African-Australian and her writing marries the rhythm, colour and folklore of her native Tanzania with Melbourne’s sporting obsessions, Aussie slang and dry wit. The result is an intriguing cultural mix.
The narrative is fluid — it moves from black comedy to surrealist adventure to a love story to a murder mystery, and back again — making it hard to pin down. Nor does it follow a traditional structure.
Even the prose style — often disjointed, littered with wisecracks and full of “colourful” language — coupled with the use of a second-person point of view, gives the book a fresh and original edge. Suffice it to say, I’ve never read an Australian novel quite like it.
For a more detailed review, please visit my blog.
The author is African-Australian and her writing marries the rhythm, colour and folklore of her native Tanzania with Melbourne’s sporting obsessions, Aussie slang and dry wit. The result is an intriguing cultural mix.
The narrative is fluid — it moves from black comedy to surrealist adventure to a love story to a murder mystery, and back again — making it hard to pin down. Nor does it follow a traditional structure.
Even the prose style — often disjointed, littered with wisecracks and full of “colourful” language — coupled with the use of a second-person point of view, gives the book a fresh and original edge. Suffice it to say, I’ve never read an Australian novel quite like it.
For a more detailed review, please visit my blog.