"‘Place of Cool Waters’ is a winding narrative that sees a chance meeting between two characters develop into a valuable friendship across a cultural gap with valuable and intriguing themes."
A thought-provoking story of identity and family. ‘Place of Cool Waters’ by Ndirangu Githaiga Follows the tales of Jude Wilson, an orphan raised in Washington State, and Qadir Mohamed, raised by his Aunt and Uncle in Nairobi. Their paths cross when Jude goes to Nairobi to visit the grave of his Boy Scout heroes. Along the way Jude realises that the idols of his childhood had a more difficult story, connecting back to a darker colonial past. I like how the author intersperses the theme of identity throughout the novel. The concept of who someone is and who they may appear to be crops up in several different guises. In particular, I found the storyline surrounding Captain Tom Wilson to be thought-provoking. Introduced as one of Jude’s scouting heroes, in Kenya it is revealed that his full story has been whitewashed, serving as a keen reminder of the complexity of colonial history and that critical eye that is needed when looking at historical figures who may be revered in the western world. Although an important point to highlight, I feel that there may have been some scope to expand on this idea more. In my opinion, Jude's decision to not share what he learned slightly undermined the overall point, and continues the tendency to overlook uncomfortable truths. Personally I don’t like footnotes in my fiction, I feel they pull me out of the story and the information should have been woven into the plotline if necessary, or otherwise left out entirely. The rest of the writing flowed well, the author’s description of the characters and the setting drew me in and I found the story arcs for Jude and Qadir interesting. ‘Place of Cool Waters’ is a winding narrative that sees a chance meeting between two characters develop into a valuable friendship across a cultural gap with valuable and intriguing themes. I think that this book would be enjoyed by those looking for literary stories about identity.
Charlotte Walker, A LoveReading Ambassador
| Primary Genre | Modern and Contemporary Fiction |
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