book: Antonia Saw the Oryx First (African Trilogy)

book: Antonia Saw the Oryx First (African Trilogy) | Maria Thomas ...

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	• Antonia Saw the Oryx First (African Trilogy) Maria Thomas Soho Press, 2007 - 296 pages average customer review:based on 1 review view larger image
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Looking at Africa through many eyes. Complex & interesting!

Traditional African powers and imposed western ideas are juxtaposed in this complex and interesting story. If you liked Barbara Kingsolver's "Poisonwood Bible", chances are you will like this book too. In Antonia Saw the Oryx First we meet characters through the eyes of an American doctor who has been in Africa long enough to feel more African than American, yet her perspective is a mixture of both cultures. The characters are complex and very different from each other. Each character seems to represent a different face of Africa - the precolonial, the traditional, the colonized desperate to reclaim his roots, the native-born colonist, and the reincarnated new Africa.

Early in the story, a young woman - Esther - is brought to the doctor's clinic near death from a violent, upsetting episode with a sailor. It took me a while to find the courage to return to the book after that, but the return was worth it. We witness Esther's remarkable rebirth and her gradual transformation to a healer of a more traditional sort. We are thrust(along with the doctor) between the world of traditional African medicine and western medicine, often wondering which really has the greatest power and will prevail in the constantly changing African world. Who belongs in Africa, and who can rightfully find their own place there? The answers will have you thinking a long time!

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"A complex, deeply written and finely wrought double portrait of two women, one black, one white, picking their way through the debris of a shattered colonialism, discovering unexpected treasures buried in the rubble."-Margaret Atwood

"Impressive."-Vogue

"Sharp, surprising images of Africa."-ELLE

"Exquisite. The year's best novel."-USA Today

Though American, Dr. Antonia Redmond is African-born and has lived in East Africa for almost her entire life. With the end of colonialism, like all whites, she faces exile. Only the intercession of an influential lover preserves her visa, but should she leave, she will not be allowed to return. As the inevitable reckoning comes and the white population dwindles, she clings to the land to which she feels a deep connection. Antonia Saw the Oryx First is a profound exploration of personal and cultural identity, love and leave-taking.

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