A Bend in the River

A Bend in the River

So I've started reading more regional fiction. This is going to be my first post about a book that doesn't take place in the US. A Bend in the River takes place in Africa, specifically where the river bends.

The narrator leaves home to find his destiny on the other side of Africa. He opens a store and weathers through the various turns of events that his life takes, living as a stranger in a new city, however what the essentials of what makes Africa remain.

I liked this book for two reasons. The first is because the main character left home to find his own way in the world. Looking over my life, I realize that I've had three new starts… moving to Marietta… moving to Athens… and then moving to DC. Although each of these was scary of the unknown at the time, each has been better than the last. I like the fact that the main character knew what he knew, but plunged himself into what he didn't know, just because there was a chance that it was better than the world he did know. Although he's not particularly all that likeable or complex, you can't help but admire his initial lust for the unknown.

The second reason is because it doesn't have a happy ending. It's pretty realistic of how I feel a lot of people's fates are in countries where the governments are so unstable. I tend to take the fact that I live in a country with a stable government for granted, where my life is not going to become a government induced nightmare at any given moment.

Moral of the Story: You'll never know what lies at the Bend in the River if you don't go there yourself.