A Matter of Time
Page 23
Now that all had been said and done they rowed ashore in silence and buckled on their rucksacks. Having rewarded the askaris for their efforts
by handing them the keys to the barracks, which they were at liberty to loot, they set off up the hill and disappeared into the bush.
*
¥
Q
,* *
TRANSLATED BY JOHN BROWNJOHN
‘beautifully rendered in John Brownjohn’s translation... [a] magnificent novel.’
GILES FODEN
‘A war-torn farce worth waiting for.’
THE INDEPENDENT
November 1913 and three German shipbuilders, led by master shipwright Anton Riiter, are ordered by Kaiser Wilhelm to dismantle a steam ship, send the parts to German East Africa, and reassemble it on Lake Tanganyika. But their aim of getting the job done and returning home quickly is soon eclipsed by the enchantment of the exotic lansdcape and the violent machinery of colonialism.
At the same time, Winston Churchill sends the eccentric Commander Geoffrey Spicer-Simson to transport two dilapidated and incongruously named gun-boats, Mimi and Toutou, to the other side of the lake. When World War I breaks out the Germans and British are facing each other, and the German shipbuilders reluctantly find themselves fighting under the unsympathetic Captain-Lieutenant Gustav von Zimmer.
9781907822032 2016 - 01-14 11:17
9
781907"822032. .
www.hauspublishing.com
In the midst of the horrors of war, however, there are moments of great humour and pathos.
cover image courtesy: akg images