Mr. Malik is a quiet, gentle, unassuming man. He is one of the many who show up every week to go on bird walks sponsored by the East African Ornithological Society and led by Rose Mbikwa, a redheaded Scottish woman, the widow of a Kenyan opposition politican who moved to Kenya and fell in love both with her husband and with the country. Mr. Malik not only enjoys the birds they see on these outings, but he is also more than a little in love with Rose.

The book's conflict comes in the person of an old school acquaintance of Mr. Malik's, one who humiliated Mr. Malik as a young boy and who now seems poised to barge into Rose's life despite Mr. Malik's misgivings. When both men want to invite Rose to the Asadi Club's annual ball, instead of making Rose choose, the men come up with a contest to determine the more worthy suitor. The man who spots the most different varieties of birds will win the honor of asking Rose to the ball. The ways in which the two men go about finding their birds and the things that impede them along the way illustrate quite a lot about their respective characters. The outcome will surprise and delight the reader in this charming, light book.

The characters as drawn are delightful. Mr. Malik is generally respectful and courtly. The bits of his life beyond the contest to win Rose are rich and full, intriguing and compassionate. Harry Khan is more opaque to the reader but his character is teased out well enough by a few choice incidents as well. The reader definitely roots for one man over the other but getting to the conclusion of the contest is sheer brightness and light and worth every small page it takes to get there.

I thoroughly enjoyed this simple and heartwarming book, laughing with the gentle humor and enjoying the unusual premise and tone. Not for those seeking something fast paced but lovely for someone seeking a slower, richly rewarding afternoon's read. ( )

Reminiscent of the tone and atmosphere of the McCall Smith Botswana books, Drayson’s gentle novel is set in Kenya – in particular the ‘brown’ (of Indian origin) citizens of Nairobi. Mr Malik is a member of Rose Mbikwa’s bird-watching group and he is smitten by Rose. He plans to invite her to the Hunt Ball as soon as he can get tickets, but finds the brash Harry Khan also plans to invite her. A bird-watching competition is organised by members of their club – the winner to be first to invite her. Malik’s misadventures throughout his quest provide lots of fascinating insights into Nairobi and its culture as well as thoroughly entertaining the reader. The writing is humorous and engaging and the characters are all interesting. It is a little gem of a novel. ( )

A slight but entertaining satire plus love story. Noticably similar to A MCColl Smith's style.
Derivative but fun. ( )

Entertaining story of a successful businessman who longs to ask out the leader of the weekly birdwatching group he goes to. Unfortunately a former schoolmate returns to Kenya and also wishes to ask Rose out and they end up competing to spot the most birds within a week. ( )

This was for me one of the most enjoyable reads of the year so far. It is described by Joanne Harris as "a book of immense charm; a sort of P. G. Wodehouse meets Alexander McCall Smith." I'm not familiar enough with Wodehouse to know if that part fits, but I would certainly agree that this is a charming novel and that this AMS fan loved it.

Two men who attended the same school are brought back together in late middle age when they both attend an outing of a birdwatching society in Nairobi, in their native Kenya. Both set on inviting the group leader to the annual hunt ball, they enter into a wager to determine which of them should be permitted to make the invitation. The winner will be the one who can record the larger number of sitings of different bird species in the space of a week without leaving Kenya. The story charts the ups and downs faced by the two men as the race progresses.

It is at times very funny and at other times quite touching. The central character, Malik, is a delightfully honest and self-effacing character. The biggest regret in his life is the way he treated his son, who died a few years earlier, but it has led him to make amends by regularly visiting the sick in his local hospital. Lest he seem too good to be true, this factory-owner who in his youth had aspirations towards a journalistic career, has a secret-life penning a popular column in one of the Nairobi papers which, whilst disguised as a feature on a nature in actual fact lifts the lid on the widespread corruption amongst the ruling elite.

Trivia enthusiasts might also be interested in this book's claim that 87.4% of birdwatchers worldwide use English as their first language. This is despite the fact that about 60% of bird species are not found in English speaking countries. Assuming these facts to be true, why should it be I wonder that English speakers are so disproportionately drawn towards "twitching"?

The author Nicholas Drayson is clearly a birdwatcher himself. I for one am immensely pleased that he laid aside his binoculars for long-enough to write this delightful tale. ( )