their voices."
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The New York Times Book Review"David Livingstone, the 19th-century Scottish missionary who set out to find the source of the Nile, casts a long shadow over East Africa, and Gappah explores his legacy in her new novel. Narrated by Halima, Livingstone's cook and slave, and Jacob, a pious freed slave, as Livingstone's corpse is taken to the coast of Africa, the story offers a fresh look at the enduring history of colonialism."
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The New York Times, 17 New Books to Watch For in September
"Based on Livingstone's journals and narrated by his gossipy cook and a freedman with a messiah complex, this textured novel illuminates the agonies of colonialism and blind loyalty-Conrad's heart of darkness in reverse."
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O, the Oprah Magazine"Ambitious...There are love triangles, power struggles, brushes with slave traders, clashes with hostile strangers-even murder. Livingstone left "a track of light where the white men who followed him could go in perfect safety," Gappah writes, referring to the ensuing Scramble for Africa, in which the continent was divided up among European powers. Gappah's characters foresee but cannot stop a future that haunts the novel."
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The New Yorker"Searing, poignant, often hilarious...Gappah's treatment of her characters' odyssey, by turns playful and tragic, is underpinned by a larger theme: the legacy of colonization...The result is an intricate storytelling that delves deep into the disturbing yet indelible relationship between two continents, with the enigmatic Livingstone both an avatar of colonial aggression and a figure beloved by the people who knew him best.
Out of Darkness, Shining Light beautifully evokes the moral ambiguities that lurk within the human heart, revealing a talent that continues to grow from book to book."
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The Minneapolis Star-Tribune"Petina Gappah's work of historical fiction delves into the story of two African servants of famed 19th-century explorer David Livingstone. After Livingstone's death, the pair are among those who transport his body, and his notes, 1,000 miles to ensure the body's safe return to England. The novel glows with the insightful voices of the two servants and the strength of their devotion."
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Christian Science Monitor, Best Books of September
"Perhaps no story was as ripe for the
Wide Sargasso Sea treatment (the revision of a classic by marginalized voices) as the tale of missionary David Livingstone's death in Africa. In contrasting styles, the Zimbabwean novelist lets two characters describe their trek across Africa with Livingstone's body, beautifully complicating the narrative."
-Vulture
, Best and Biggest Books to Read This Fall
"Petina Gappah's novel is about exploration and adventure in nineteenth-century Africa-the captivating story of the loyal men and women who carried explorer and missionary Dr. Livingstone's body, his papers and maps, fifteen hundred miles across the continent of Africa, so his remains could be returned home to England and his work preserved there."
-E! Online, 15 Books to Cozy Up with This Fall
"We need novels like Gappah's
Out of Darkness, Shining Light, for they remember the stories that have been papered over by history-by whiteness and empire...stories like Halima's and Jacob's, told through Gappah's expert characterization, are not not-real. They are the possibilities always at the edges of the master narratives we learn; they need only to be brought out of the darkness,"
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World Literature Today, Winter 2020 Book Reviews
"A rich, vivid, and addictive book filled with memorably drawn characters. This is a humane, riveting, epic novel that spotlights marginalized historical voices."
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Kirkus, starred, Best Historical Fiction of 2019
"Gappah decolonizes the legend of Dr. Livingstone by turning the tale inside out, giving voice to those who are overlooked in the official narratives. The result is an indictment of the legacy of slavery and colonialism that is also an engrossing adventure story."
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Library Journal, starred
"Fascinating ... David Livingstone, as I learned from this novel, was this very complex individual who was an early British abolitionist-yet had slaves-who devoted his life to finding the source of the Nile. What Petina Gappah has done in this novel is write about what happened after his death."
-Nancy Pearl, NPR, Four Fantastic Books For The End Of 2019
"Like the changing interpretations of David Livingstone's work, [
Heart of Darkness], once a pillar of the canon, must move aside to make room for other perspectives. Petina Gappah's book gives us one such perspective. In the characters of Halima and Jacob, the author has created two voices whose authenticity and resonance provide both weight and vitality to this tale of darkness and light,"
-Lorna Kearns,
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette"Riveting ... a deeply layered exploration of courage, sorrow, and resilience, culminating in a revelatory quest and an entracing vision."
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Booklist"Readers who enjoy expedition travelogues or smartly drawn characters will appreciate Gappah's winning novel."
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Publishers Weekly
