Book set in Zambia – The Old Drift, Namwali Serpell

Submitted: 27th March 2019

An epic read set in Livingstone, Zambia

Epic read detailing the lives of three generations and three families in Zambia. The story ebbs and flows like the Zambezi River which runs through the landscape of the book. Then there’s the dam built by Italian colonizers. This river is vital to the lives who live there and the villages and settlements along it is where the book drifts and picks up themes as it goes along.

BookTrail Travel to The Old Drift

Bookreview

The Old Drift is an epic novel. Both in size and scope. It’s not an easy read and is quite complicated in places but stick with it, as it’s a very unique reading experience. A tale of three families and three threads running through it which interweave into an impressive tapestry.

The story begins in 1904 and takes the reader along like a river through time. It flows into the present day and beyond, into the future. On its way it picks up bits of various themes such as politics, the history of white British pioneers in Rhodesia and the ‘natives’, racism, empire and so much more

It’s a marathon read so pace yourself from the start. Build up slowly and surely. Don’t be tempted to run ahead. You’ll get lost and miss out on the views along the way. It’s set in some of the most fascinating and stunning landscape in the African continent for a start. Then there’s the other runners in the race – the magical realism, the fantasy, sci fi even makes an appearance. An odd cast of characters but their shared rhythm jogs along nicely and provides much refreshment and room for thought along the way.

BookTrail Travel to The Old Drift

The Old Drift is an old settlement and it is on the banks of the Zambezi river. It’s akin to a viewpoint of the world and the history around it. A vantage point and not just of the river and the mountains.

I have to say that for plot – it’s like the river. Nothing linear and everything meandering to the pinpoint that at times I had no idea where things were going or where I’d been. There were traps too – sections of text in local dialect with no translation – which for me slowed things down and made me feel I was missing out.

It’s almost experimental and it’s unlike anything I’ve read before. Sometimes it has visions of grandeur it can’t live up to, yet I was fascinated to see how it all played out. It’s a vision of Zambia, of Africa, of the space race, political shifts, and most of all….people and their lives.

The Old Drift is, as I said before, a tapestry. Easy to get bogged down in the detail during its formation, but once you’ve finished, stand back and see the impressive full picture from a distance.