A Guide to the Birds of East Africa

In the bookshop

Nicholas Drayson was born in England and has lived in Australia since 1982, where he studied zoology and a PhD in 19th century Australian natural history writing. He has worked as a journalist in the UK, Kenya and Australia, writing for publications such as the Daily Telegraph and Australian Geographic. From 1998 to 2001 he wrote for the National Museum of Australia. His first novel, Confessing a Murder, was published in 2002, his latest is A Guide to the Birds of East Africa (Penguin, 2008). He was recently the winner of the inaugural WILDCARE Tasmania Nature Writing Prize. (Penguin Books)

You do not have to be a bird lover to enjoy this charming novel. The main character is Mr. Malik, a “brown” man of Indian descent, living in Nairobi, Kenya. He is a widower who runs his family cigar business The Jolly Man Manufacturing Company. He is a timid man with a comb-over whose great passion is bird watching. Every Tuesday morning he takes part in a bird walk led by the also widowed Rose Mbikwa, whom he falls head over heels in love with.

Mr. Malik would like to invite Rose Mbikwa to the town’s annual hunt ball but everything is turned upside down when his old schoolmate and thorn in his side Harry Khan arrives on the scene, back after many years abroad. Rich and flashy, he takes a keen interest in Rose Mbikwa too, so with the help of some friends at the gentlemen’s club, a wager is set: whoever sees the most birds in a week will ask Rose to the ball.

This is the beginning of a great ornithological adventure. Harry Khan hires planes and boats and goes to faraway bird-rich locations, while Mr. Malik, characteristically, stays closer to home and encounters some bad luck when his car and notebook are stolen.

There is more to Mr. Malik than the shy, modest bird lover – he writes the newspaper column Birds of a Feather under a pseudonym. In it he satirically exposes the country’s politicians, though superficially it seems to be all about birds. Exposure as a columnist would be a very hazardous thing for Mr. Malik, so therefore the loss of the notebook is a serious matter, since it contains a lot more than just sightings of birds.

The question of who will win the opportunity to invite Rose Mbikwa to the ball is not the main issue of the novel, a heartwarming tale about life and passion, love and loss. Drayson gives a very positive picture of Africa, despite stolen cars and Somali road pirates threatening with AK47s and it all invites comparison with the Botswana series by Alexander McCall Smith. A Guide to the Birds of East Africa is a wonderful feelgood read!