Victor

The reader brought the book to life with his mastery of different voices and accents. He was able to suggest the characters' moods, changes of outlook, even their weariness and weakness as the siege proceeds. Brilliant work!

One of a trilogy linked by their general theme of the decline of the British Empire, Krishnapur is a wonderfully humane chronicle of a group of Victorian trapped in their cultural assumptions, tested by extreme circumstances. Some grow, some become more hardened in their ways of thinking, some give way. The result is an investigation of basic attitudes toward social organization, human interaction and morality - told with great humor and satire that is never misanthropic. Fascinating.

The stories take place in and out of Africa. They pay close attention to the states of mind of the characters. The situations range from hiding out in the midst of armed conflict to dealing with family or work, to adjusting to life in America in an arranged marriage.

Totally convincing, read with appropriate accents and a gentleness that goes with the content. Engrossing.

Yes: Marcus's life is quite a story - from Ethiopia to Sweden, then Switzerland, England, France, USA - and now an international career. His sense of duty and dedication could be cloying, but is set out so unsentimentally that it just seems part of a strong character. You do have to be interested in food because of the detailed descriptions of his lifetime obsession, but they repay attention.

Marcus himself, of course.

Discovering Harlem.

Coming back to Ethiopia; meeting his "dead" father and his reception in his home village.