false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171660701m/112683.jpg 112683 16 No, we're not talking Bonnie Prince Charlie here. The title character of Giles Foden's debut novel, <I>The Last King of Scotland</I>, 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.<p> 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. <I>The Last King of Scotland</I> makes for dark but compelling reading. <I>--Alix Wilber</I> 811112 book 26 10 1999 The Last King of Scotland total:429|5:68|4:177|3:150|2:29|1:5| 429 1561 687 95 5 1 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Feb 08 22:47:52 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 08 22:49:25 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 1 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Sep 05 10:31:52 -0700 2007 Wed Sep 05 10:35:24 -0700 2007
Plus points, Foden knows Africa and I r...more...]]> 0 0 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Jan 14 19:12:26 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 14 19:13:01 -0800 2009
This is a novel, and, as I understand it, a first novel, from a journalist, Giles Foden. He describes, from his research and interviews with people, the horrifying ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Apr 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 19 10:27:05 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 22 08:20:44 -0700 2009
This one is kind of a mystery to me. I liked it a lot, but it seems to only scratch the surface of possibilities lurking in the subject matter. While Garrigan...more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Oct 16 13:50:56 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 20 12:43:56 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Nov 15 16:43:15 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 15 16:43:15 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Jun 27 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Jul 11 10:06:57 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 11 10:07:11 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 12 09:44:24 -0800 2008 Tue Apr 01 11:15:03 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 21 07:58:44 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 21 08:13:45 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Jan 06 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Mon Apr 13 17:51:05 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 13 17:51:05 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 26 04:41:03 -0800 2007 Sun Jan 13 02:58:47 -0800 2008
Of course, t...more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Jul 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 11 10:02:30 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 10 06:30:31 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Apr 12 09:26:35 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 12 09:27:02 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Nov 05 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 08 00:03:23 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 08 00:03:39 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jan 28 19:07:55 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 29 04:32:31 -0800 2009 Very different from the film, but worth the read. ]]> 4 0 false false Sun Nov 30 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 02 18:42:33 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 02 18:48:18 -0800 2008 3 0 false true Tue Dec 23 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 22 01:29:41 -0800 2008 Sun Mar 29 08:23:49 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Nov 17 20:41:34 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 17 20:48:50 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Jan 18 05:07:45 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 18 22:52:17 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Jan 20 13:00:50 -0800 2008 Sat Apr 28 12:42:03 -0700 2007 Sat Apr 28 12:45:28 -0700 2007 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=112683