The Nature of Things

I am frequently flabbergasted when I consider all the excellent literature that is being produced at this time in human history. And so many of the wonderful novels that keep attracting my attention are the  first novels of the authors. Where do all these accomplished writers spring from? Well, in the case of Namwali Serpell, they spring from Zambia, at least originally. She and her family moved to the United States when she was only nine years old, so she actually grew up here, and she now teaches literature at the University of California, Berkeley. But she retains her Zambian roots and ethos. At some point, she decided to move on from teaching the art of literature to practicing it. The result is nothing short of dazzling. The Old Drift is set mostly in Zambia, a landlocked country in southern Africa. It starts with a brief retelling of the story of how Stanley meets Livingstone along the Zambezi River. The river and the great falls which white people named Victoria Falls play...