I started reading this thinking it was written by Alexander McCall Smith due to the deceptive cover art. Anyway it was an interesting story to read over the holidays.
I have donated back to the book swap fridge in New Brighton.

Disappointing. It had an endorsement from Alexander McCall Smith, so I had high hopes, but I didn’t think it came off. Harrods International Bar (and Nightspot) is located in a slum in the capital of a fictional East African slum and is threatened with closure by lawyers representing the other Harrods. An appealing premise, but it’s never really developed. Nor is the relationship between the British journalist and the aid worker. There’s a lot about corruption and the evils facing urban Africa, but neither the humour of the Harrods vs Harrods conflict nor the political analysis are really carried through,and too many promising strands are left unresolved.

The only rounded-out characters are the two street boys who hang around Harrods and make a living stealing anything they can lay their hands on; everyone else feels as if they have come out of a draft that hadn’t yet decided where it was going.

Last Orders at Harrods is set in a fictional slum, Kireba, set in a fictional East African country, Kuwisha. Unfortunately, both town and country are simply a collection of African stereotypes - there is no sense of real culture, geography or history, which is vital in making a fictional country feel real.

The characters are one-dimensional stereotypes - corrupt officials, cheeky street children, motherly café owners... Large parts of the book dealt with political discussions and the manipulative and self-seeking behaviour of the various aid workers in the country. I did find this a bit too far-fetched to be believable - while I agree that Western aid workers have often done as much harm as good, I find it difficult to believe that one of them would actually dance around her kitchen, clapping her hands and celebrating because large numbers of people are dying of cholera...there's a difference between arrogant incompetence and sheer evil.

The writing is extremely tedious, and I found myself skimming large chunks just to get the book finished. If I'd only bothered to check the reviews in advance, I would have seen that half the 5 star reviews were identical ones written by the same person - which would have told me all I needed to know! I'm bemused by Alexander McCall Smith's glowing commendation - I can only assume he was confusing this book with another one.

Last Orders at Harrods is the first book in the Kuwisha Trilogy by author Michael Holman. 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.