Rate this book

In Borrowed Light (2010)

by Barbara Keating(Favorite Author)

4.14 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

184655151X (ISBN13: 9781846551512)

languge

English

genre

Food & Cookbooks

publisher

Random House UK

series

The Langani Trilogy

review 1: I have to be honest, I didn't enjoy the first 200 pages of this book. It started incredibly slowly and shone a spotlight on the weak writing. A third of the way in and the drama starts, which of course changed my initial feelings. The remainder of the book is far better and definitely makes up for the first bit. What an emotional and tense ride! I feel sad now that my trips to Langani are over. I'm am not sad about leaving behind the formal, stilted and unrealistic conversations held between the characters.
review 2: Sadly, this book is riddled with cliches, stereotypes and poor writing. You can randomly open the book at any page to confirm this. My example. Flip, flip, flip, stop. Page 167: " All around him he could hear the sounds of Africa. Hyenas yipped ... moreand cackled, hippos honked and splashed and puffed in the river, and from an immeasurable distance, the deep, grunting sound of a lion drifted across the plains on the night wind." This is the kind of paragraph you would read to your children before they go to sleep at night.But there is a story, and it can be compelling in parts if not consistently throughout. The narrative is based on three girls who, in the 1960's, met at boarding school in Kenya and became "blood sisters." The three novels are based on the development of the girls from schoolchildren to women who marry and have children of their own. The span of their lives is set against the backdrop of the violence of the Mau Mau rebellion, the trials of Independence, the harshness of the African bush, the prevalence of wildlife poaching and the corruption of officials in high places. At times this backdrop becomes claustrophic, but the author is timeously able to create a breathing space by moving the action to London, Ireland or Norway. For the most part, however, the story is firmly rooted in Kenya - in Nairobi, Mombassa and Lamu but most of all on the farm, Langani, which belongs to the family of one of the girls. This book would definitely fit into the chick-lit category as it centres on family relationships and the ups and downs of the marriages and love interests of the women. To be quite honest, the relationship trials got so tired by the third novel that the only reason I stayed the course is because we had lived in Kenya for four years and reading about the places we lived in and visited was like a trip down memory lane. I am not sure that anyone who hadn't lived in Kenya, or even Africa would find this book appealing. I suspect they would find the girls too annoying to be bothered with, and move on to a better written novel. less

Download links for: In Borrowed Light

Advertising