Towards Asmara

Description

During the Eritrean struggle for independence from Ethiopia, four Westerners travel under Eritrean rebel escort through a land of savage beauty and bitter drought towards the ancient capital of Asmara. Each is on a personal mission, all are irrevocably changed as they bear witness to the devastation of war as well as to the Eritreans' courage and humanity in the face of constant attack.

Thomas Keneally has been shortlisted for the Booker four times and won it with Schindler's Ark in 1982. His novels have been filmed (Schindler's List and The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith) and dramatised (The Playmaker). He has also written several works of non-fiction, including The Place Where Souls are Born, about the American Southwest, and Homebush Boy, a memoir.

'It is a tribute to the power of his narrative that his book reads as the factual account of a journey behind the lines, in the course of which a forgotten history is given flesh and blood' -- Observer 'The landscape and the scenario of war and famine are brilliantly used as a backdrop against which the characters' own internal strife and moral hunger are illuminated' -- Daily Mail 'Not since FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS has a book of such sophistication, the work of a major international novelist, spoken out so unambiguously on behalf of an armed struggle' -- New York Times Book Review 'Keneally advances on the interminable conflict with all his customary assurance and probing curiosity ... The war springs vividly to life ... [He] keeps things moving through a brilliantly portrayed landscape' -- Guardian 'Memorable, provocative, full of interest' -- Literary Review