Salim is the first-person narrator on this pessimistic journey. An observant and analytical man, he says, "So from an early age I developed the habit of looking, detaching myself from a familiar scene and trying to consider it as from a distance." He also theorizes the point of view of the other characters. Salim is both an insider and an outsider. He's African rather than European, yet still foreign. This means he can be more involved in African society than any European, yet still observe it from the outside. Major events, like armed coups, guerilla rebellions, urban riots, and rural massacres occur in the background. However, Salim is unflinching in describing a world with an unstable economy, widespread poverty, government corruption and ethnic warfare. What he cannot offer is any possible hope for.....
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