This extraordinary, candid account of James Kilgo's African sojourn
conveys the untamed beauty of the bush country with the attention
of a seasoned naturalist and the wonder of a first-time visitor.
With startling immediacy Kilgo recalls what Zambia's Luangwa River
valley revealed to him: its voices, scents, textures, and, most
meaningfully, colors. Hues like sienna, ochre, and umber forged a
visceral link between the people, animals, and landscapes Kilgo
encountered and the muted palette of ancient rock paintings in
caves and overhangs across southern Africa. Kilgo barely knew the
man who invited him to Africa. A further complication: the trip was
a big-game safari, which conjured troubling images of privilege and
excess. Yet he went, as an observer, for Africa had enthralled him
since boyhood. Kilgo's recollections of his fellow travelers and
the safari staff - their forays into the bush, visits to nearby
villages, and long evening talks about nature, family, and faith -
are all informed by a growing awareness of Africa's complexities
and contradictions. As he reflects on the swirl of customs and
beliefs all around him, as he and his traveling companions draw
closer together, Kilgo measures what he has learned firsthand about
Africa against his readings of those who came before him, including
explorer and missionary David Livingstone, writers Ernest Hemingway
and Isak Dinesen, and environmentalists Mark and Delia Owens. Kilgo
thinks often about hunting: about the days - long initiatory rites
of local native hunters; the motivations, beyond money, that can
drive a poacher; the carnage the animals visit on each other
nightly just outside the walls of the idyllic safari compound. Near
the end of his stay, he is offered the chance to hunt a kudu, the
great antelope of storied elusiveness. Pondering this unexpected
opportunity, Kilgo wonders: Has he connected sufficiently with this
remarkable place to justify his participation in the hunt? Is he
ready and, above all, is he worthy?
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