very entertaining and humorous story set in fictional country much like Zambia where the author worked. loved the characters!

Novel by the FT’s Africa correspondent for more than 20 years this book is clearly Holman’s attempt to both convey the reality of day to day life in Africa and of the interactions of African leaders, foreign governments, international donors, journalists and aid workers (including the language they use and the compromises they reach)

The story is set in a fictional African state centred on characters that meet at the slum-based Harrods International Bar (run by the remarkable Charity Mupanga – daughter of Harrods and widow of a famous bishop). Characters include: Edward Furniver (a former fund manager now lives in the slum and operates a micro-credit facility, while his relationship with Charity deepens, the only thing saving him from despair at the state of Africa and his life.); the president of the country (one of the original independence leaders in Africa, now close to retirement and seeking to achieve what he regards as a peaceful legacy by choosing his successor); Rutere and Ntoto (two – to the reader – indistinguishable leaders of the Myoba Boys United Football Club – a street gang); Lucy (an aid worker who is delighted when a cholera outbreak means she can launch a clean water project); Cecil Pearson (after a relationship with Lucy, a financial journalist who prompted by Lucy’s criticism decides his time in Africa has been wasted and decides to enlist the Mboya boys to enable him to expose the president’s machinations); the New World Bank president and his main advisor and speechwriter.

In what is actually only really a side story the original Harrods tries to sue Charity, there is also a major pre-election riot but really the narrative in this story is secondary, simply giving Holman a non-fiction canvas to use for his observations of African life, African politics and the aid industry.

Ultimately this leads to an unsuccessful novel.

"Rather like Evelyn Waugh on acid meeting Alexander McCall Smith, veteran Africa journalist Michael Holman's book Last Orders at Harrods is an explosion of pure reading joy..."

It was this blurb from a review that prompted me to finally purchase this book, and, although I'm not quite as enthusiastic as the reviewer, I did enjoy reading this farce. Most interesting to me was reading about the interplay between the charitable organizations, the local government and foreign institutions in situations that highlighted many of the problems of modern-day Africa.

Kenya

A great insight into African life with characters that you can't help but love!

Actually found this a bit tedious. Not as funny as I thought it was going to be. Perhaps the subject matter just didn't interest me.

Last Orders at Harrods is the first book in the Kuwisha Trilogy by author Michael Holman. The audio version is narrated by Jerome Pride. It is set in Kireba, the largest urban slum in Africa, located in the small East African nation of Kuwisha and features a cast of lively characters. Widowed owner of Harrods International Bar (and Nightspot), Charity Mupanga is getting irritated by the threatening letters from a firm of London lawyers regards the name of her establishment.

Her suitor, Edward Furniver, manages the local savings co-op and has tried to help with correspondence, but has an irritation of his own, in a rather unmentionable place. World Feed rep, the cynical Lucy Gomball is delighted that cholera is a confirmed aftermath of the latest floods, hoping, via a swathe of journalists, to draw the world’s attention (and hopefully, funds) to Kuwisha.

About to repatriate, Financial News journalist Cecil Pearson has plans for a story to bring down lifelong President Josiah Nduka, plans involving glue-sniffing street boys, a pot-smoking kitchen toto and a tape recorder. While Nduka may be old, he is powerful, clever and determined to control his own fate.

Holman’s extensive experience of Africa is apparent on every page: politicians, diplomats, aid agencies, financial institutions, newspapers and even countries are easily recognisable; the extent of corruption and the forms that it takes are brilliantly illustrated; the vocabulary of code-words, watchwords and the terminology of communiques is comprehensively clarified; the feel of the African city slum is well conveyed.

Holman’s insightful novel also answers some burning questions about Africa: Why are the green traffic lights always smashed? What novel trick do street boys have for escaping police custody? To what lengths are street boys prepared to go to enter the football league? How does one become invisible? And, most importantly, why is it essential to make sure one’s underpants are well-ironed? Each chapter is prefaced by a Kuwisha proverb that is sometimes wise, often impenetrable. A satirical feast.

Light and entertaining satire about modern life in Africa.

It was OK. Nothing too special

Enjoyed it. Had some informative passages and I enjoyed the way he caught the way that mzungus talk about Africa, how journalists infer and misinform, the art of press releases, the morbid delight of aid workers etc. Didn't appreciate as much one or two expressions he used to try and get into the minds of the Mboya boys.

A book of stereotypes.

I enjoy reading books about history and in particular social history and that is one of the main reasons that I picked this book not initially realising that it was the first in a trilogy (not the first time I've done that).

The Harrods in the title is a bar made of two cargo containers in the slum of a capital of a fictional African country of Kuwisha run by the kind hearted but sharp widow Charity Mupanga who feeds and gives rudimentary lessons to the local street urchins in return for them helping her out around her bar. When her bar is mentioned in a London newspaper the Knightsbridge Harrods decides to threaten her with court action for using its name. Charity Mupanga is very similar in many ways to Precious Ramotswe of Alexander McCall Smith's excellant books who apparently advised Holman with his book.

However, this is only one very slender thread of the overall plot. There is a whole pile of stereotypical characters from bumbling diplomats, to cynical and manipulative news correspondants and press gurus, tough canny pickpocketing street urchins, prim up-tight aid workers and pantomime villain corrupt politicians to name but a few. Harrods Bar and International Nightspot may be the centre of the plot it is really the urchins Ntoto and Rutere who are the real heros of it as they strggle to survive from one day to the next.

The book is in many ways a critique of the inadequacies of the Western Aid programme and their agencies where an outbreak of cholera is celebrated because it will mean more funding which will then be squandered whereas the local banking co-operative seems to be working well. There is much talk of 'Ownership' by the locals of the various Aid programmes but what this really means is having a local as the face of the programme who can then be blamed when things go inevitably wrong.

Holman lived for many years in Zambia and has obviously used his experiences to good use as background colour and there are certainly some very comical elements to the story but in the end I feel that he lets a certain resentment about the state of modern African politics show through which to a certain extents detracts from the main story which is a real shame. Overall an interesting introduction to the trilogy but rather falls short of either Evelyn Waugh's wit of McCall Smith's humanity.