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James Gillespie, a disillusioned Irish historian turned novelist, has arrived in the Congo on the eve of independence, hoping to reunite with his Italian lover, Ines. The two had once been passionately involved in Europe, but Ines's job as a journalist took her to the Congo, where her Communist leanings have kept her. Ines is an enthusiastic supporter of Patrice Lumumba, and her journalism reflects her bias. Gillespie, on the other hand, has a novelist's broader view, and his ability to see all facets of the issue simultaneously keeps him from choosing sides and drives a wedge between him and Ines. As she becomes more involved with Lumumba and his followers, he is befriended by an American CIA agent whom Ines suspects of being an enemy. When the political situation heats up, she puts herself increasingly in harm's way until, at last, Gillespie must put his own life on the line to save hers. Bennett does a stellar job of recreating the complicated web of political intrigue and shifting alliances at play in the Congo in 1959, but he really shines when exploring how personal relationships unravel under the strain of ideology. As Ines tells Gillespie shortly before she leaves him, his ability to see all points of view is a privilege few people can afford: "When you are on history's losing side, when you are poor and cursed to eat bread, to accept your enemy's point of view is to accept starvation and slavery." The Catastrophist is a love story, a historical novel, a troubling reflection on Africa's ongoing political upheaval. --Alix Wilber
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. First Edition. The Catastrophist is a novel of love, passion, violence, and desire, set in the Belgian Congo in 1959. While expatriates loll about their pools in a colonial paradise soon to erupt into chaos, huge crowds are drawn to the charismatic Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba - and his even more dangerous rivals.One man sees the cracks appearing around him and struggles to hold on to his lover, his sanity, and ultimately his life. Gillespie, the outsider, a journalist, is in Leopoldville for the beautiful Italian, Ines. He is desperate for her love, while she is obsessed with the unfolding drama, caught up in history, ideology, hero worship.In a world slipping out of control, gripped by disgust, fear, and incomprehension, Gillespie feels that events threaten to overwhelm him - as does his friendship with the amiable but sinister American, Stipe; his relationship with his canny native driver, Auguste; and, above all, his love for Ines.It is Ines who defines Gillespie as a catastrofista, an Italian word for somebody for whom "no problem is small. Nothing can be fixed; it's always the end," for Gillespie is deeply pessimistic and skeptical about their relationship as well as politics, while Ines believes in engagement and commitment, whatever the risks - which, as it turns out, are greater than either of them can foresee.As colonial corruption and injustice give way to turmoil, brutality, and murder, Gillespie is finally forced to confront what is happening before his eyes. Seller Inventory # DADAX0684863340
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New. 1st Edition. Hardcover, Condition: New, Unread, Spine Not Broken, Clean and Tight, No marks or stamps, Dust Jacket Condition: New, (assumed) 1st Edition due to First Printing, Full # print line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 as printed on copyright page, Original $24.00 price Not clipped, "The Catastrophist" was nominated for the Whitbread award (currently called The Costa Book Awards as of 2005) in 1998, Novels by Ronan Bennett: * The Second Prison (1991) Overthrown by Strangers (1992) The Catastrophist (1998) Havoc (2004) Zugzwang (2007). Seller Inventory # ABE-1679249152820
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