Zanzibar is Giles Foden's ambitious, if somewhat flawed third novel. Like his previous books, its setting is beautiful but abused Africa and its backbone is provided by real events, in this case, prophetically, the 1998 bombing of the US Embassy in Tanzania by Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaida network. (In an author's note Foden explains that most of the novel was actually completed before the events of September 11, 2001.)

Zanzibar is ostensibly a political thriller-cum-romantic adventure yarn. An ageing maverick CIA agent, Jack Quiller, a motorcycling, marine biologist, Nick Karolides, and a young, ambitious American embassy staffer Miranda Powers, become, as the book jacket says, "embroiled in a terrorist conspiracy". It's not however, a simplistic heroes versus villains story. The Clinton/Lewinsky scandal provides an omnipresent backdrop, bin Laden puts in an appearance and the book's overriding theme is the nature of moral responsibility. As with his impressive Idi Amin-centred debut The Last King of Scotland, Foden is interested in exploring the grey area between good and evil. Quiller, for instance, helped train bin Laden--or Mr Sam as he was once affectionately known by the CIA. Betrayed and scarred for life by bin Laden, he is the only agent who believes that he poses a serious threat. Khaled al-Khidr, an islander who joined al-Qaida after the murder of his parents, realises, unfortunately too late, that terrorism is against the teachings of Allah. Fragments of the island's troubled colonial history, liberally distributed throughout the tale, also help broaden the ethical tapestry.

Unfortunately, much of Zanizbar's power is diluted by a completely unconvincing love story. Quiller and al-Khidr are marginalised by the unprepossessing Nick Karolides and Miranda Powers, who, although they drive much of the narrative, are little more than stock thriller characters. Powers is a feisty female who adored her late father. Karolides, also mourning the loss of his father, is a sensitive yet hunky environmental scientist. Their emotional range is further hampered by the fact that Foden equips them with Mall Rat-style--"Man, she looked good", "big way", "the old guy, he was really nice"--American parlance. It's almost as if a cigar-chewing Hollywood mogul with an eye on the film rights has demanded a "love interest" and Foden has duly obliged. Despite its faults it's good to see a writer at least attempting to wrestle, if a little didactically, with Islamic fundamentalism and American Imperialism. --Travis Elborough

2008-05-31 One for the Holidays

Unlike his other novels, this tale feels more like a conventional thriller as the writer explores the background to US Embassy bombings. Throughout the tale, he weaves recent history with the development of his narrative and shows a strong understanding of the issues underpinning the fractured society. For me, there was a sense that the narrator was more interested in exploring these questions than in developing his narrative and some of the characterisation felt rather sketchy and stereotypical. The main woman, Miranda, seems ignorant of important issues whilst other figures such as the terrorists never really leap off the page.
Yet this is not an easy novel to put down. The plot is well-structured and moves forward rapidly and economically whilst the descriptions of the African locations are detailed and vivid. The final paragraphs are written beautifully and invite a reflective repsonse from the reader that helps to lift this novel above more formulaic thrillers.