The Last King of Scotland (Revolutionary Writing): Amazon.de: Giles Foden: Englische Bücher

Amazon.co.uk

No, we're not talking Bonnie Prince Charlie here. The title character of Giles Foden's debut novel, The Last King of Scotland, is none other than Idi Amin, the former dictator of Uganda. Told from the viewpoint of Nicholas Garrigan, Amin's personal physician, the novel chronicles the hell that was Uganda in the 1970s. Garrigan, the only son of a Scots Presbyterian minister, finds himself far away from Fossiemuir when he accepts a post with the Ministry of Health in Uganda. His arrival in Kampala coincides with the coup that leads to President Obote's overthrow and Idi Amin Dada's ascendancy to power. Garrigan spends only a few days in the capital city, however, before heading out to his assignment in the bush. But a freak traffic accident involving Amin's sports car and a cow eventually brings the good doctor into the dictator's orbit; a few months later, Garrigan is recalled from his rural hospital and named personal physician to the president. Soon enough, Garrigan finds himself caught between his duty to his patient and growing pressure from his own government to help them control Amin.

From Nicholas Garrigan's catbird seat, Foden guides us through the horrors of Amin's Uganda. It would be simple enough to make the dictator merely monstrous, but Foden defies expectation, rendering him appealing even as he terrifies. The doctor "couldn't help feeling awed by the sheer size of him and the way, even in those unelevated circumstances, he radiated a barely restrained energy...I felt--far from being the healer--that some kind of elemental force was seeping into me." And Garrigan makes a fine stand-in for Conrad's Marlow as he travels up a river of blood from Naiveté to horrified recognition of his own complicity. As if this weren't enough, Foden also treats us to a finely drawn portrait of Africa in all its natural, political, and social complexity. The Last King of Scotland makes for dark but compelling reading. --Alix Wilber, Amazon.com -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verf�gbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

Amazon.com

From Nicholas Garrigan's catbird seat, Foden guides us through the horrors of Amin's Uganda. It would be simple enough to make the dictator merely monstrous, but Foden defies expectation, rendering him appealing even as he terrifies. The doctor "couldn't help feeling awed by the sheer size of him and the way, even in those unelevated circumstances, he radiated a barely restrained energy.... I felt--far from being the healer--that some kind of elemental force was seeping into me." And Garrigan makes a fine stand-in for Conrad's Marlow as he travels up a river of blood from naiveté to horrified recognition of his own complicity. As if this weren't enough, Foden also treats us to a finely drawn portrait of Africa in all its natural, political, and social complexity. The Last King of Scotland makes for dark but compelling reading. --Alix Wilber -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verf�gbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

Alle Produktbeschreibungen

Kundenrezensionen

5 Sterne

4 Sterne

3 Sterne

2 Sterne

1 Sterne

11 Rezensionen

4.5 von 5 Sternen

Kundenrezension verfassen

Die hilfreichsten Kundenrezensionen

1 von 1 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich

Excellent docu-novel about Uganda in the times of Idi Amin 5. September 2002

Von anonymous

Format:Taschenbuch

The title itself is the perfect eye-catcher. The novel is about a young Scottish doctor who starts out in a small hospital in the bush of Uganda and ends up with the position of the "personal phyician" of the dictator Idi Amin. What makes it so readable? It catches the athomosphere of Africa perfectly, has a very well developed and nuanced main character (most of the time you think you read a biography not a novel!) as well as a fascinating view on Idi Amin. It also makes you think about the price Africa had to pay in the Cold War when East and West were financing dictators in order to prevent them to turn to the other block.
If any novel deserves a five star rating, it is this one!!

Kommentar |

War diese Rezension f�r Sie hilfreich?

Nein

Excellent, hard to put down 24. Juni 2000

Von Cheryl C. Hammond

The moral dilemas are acute in this story of a Scots expatriate physician forced into service as the personal physician of Idi Amin of Uganda. Thought provoking and gripping.

Excellent debut 21. M�rz 2000

Von Mr. K. Mahoney

This is an exciting debut novel. It is the story of one Nicholas Garrigan, a young Scottish doctor who is assigned to be the personal physician to Uganda's famous dictator, Idi Amin. Yet the young doctor discovers, to his own cost, that one can never be totally removed from the wild excesses of others... I read the first half of this novel breathlessly. The depiction of Uganda is intriguing. Perhaps this is due to morbid fascination: most people will be aware of Amin's bloody history. The knowledge that everything will go wrong draws you further into this book. Foden presents a compelling portrait of Amin, even to the extent of making him likeable. For instance, there is Amin's eccentric love of all things Scottish, and the peculiar messages he sends to other heads of state. But there is always a palpable fear for Garrigan whenever he's in Amin's presence. Amin is dangerous, for Garrigan never knows what he's going to do next, and how he will become embroiled in his bloody vengeance... I found the resolution to be quite disappointing. In his bid to escape Uganda, Garrigan literally stumbles across the worse excesses of Amin's regime, almost tripping over a pile of corpses. This is the only part of the novel where Foden's otherwise excellent research overwhelms. Uganda's bloody history is already well known, and it would have been far more effective for Garrigan to have remained in ignorance about the worst excesses. Garrigan becomes a mere cipher in Foden's bid to depict the downfall of Amin. But this is only really disappointing in contrast to the excellent first part. Overall, it well deserves its critical success.