A Guide to the Birds of East Africa

Widower Henry Malik has been in love with widow and fellow bird enthusiast Rose Mbikwa for quite some time. He has just screwed up his courage to ask her to the Nairobi Hunt Ball.

But a schoolfellow nemesis of his, Harry Khan, appears and is equally taken by Rose. In order to settle who has the right to ask Rose to the ball, the two men engage in a top secret wager as to who can identify the most species of birds.

Enough Nairobi details to give a feeling for the realities of Kenyan life – street gangs, crime, raiders from across the Ugandan border, dangerous politics, AIDS, and the eco tourists.

But mostly this book is fun; more so if you would enjoy details of the rich bird life this area has to offer.

I'll definitely be up for the sequel!

A Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Nicholas Drayson is not a book about ornithology. There are lots of birds in the book, but it is actually an unconventional love story set in Kenya where the main characters are birdwatchers and their hobby is used to settle the difficult question of which suitor should have the pleasure of asking Mrs. Rose Mbikwa to the upcoming Hunt Ball.

Although rather overused, the word charming is the perfect word to describe this story. Mr. Malik, a quiet widower spends his Tuesday mornings on a bird walk guided by Mrs. Rose Mbikwa, a Scottish widow of a deceased Kenyan politician. He has a crush on Rose and wishes to ask her to the Hunt Ball, but before he does, Harry Khan shows up and also expresses his show more interest in the lovely Rose. To settle who will get to ask her, the members of their club come up with a contest where whichever man can spot and name the most birds will earn the right to ask Rose to the ball. While Harry Khan spends his time on safaris hunting down exotic birds, Mr. Malik runs into all kinds of problems right in Nairobi, including his car being stolen along with his birding notebook and a run in with renegade Somalis.

The simple plot is delightfully unrolled with captivating character sketches and glimpses into Kenyan life and politics. Much of the appeal and humour of the book is due to the somewhat older protagonists who prove that life doesn’t end when one reaches retirement age. The conclusion had a nice twist and was very satisfying. show less

This book is a little bit romance, a little bit bird watching field guide, a little bit mystery and a little bit Kenya tourism. Altogether they make for a sweet little read.

Mr. Malik is not just the mild mannered, middle-aged Indian man with a comb-over, and as the story unfolds we find out that he is full of surprises, and even surprises himself sometimes. His love for his Tuesday morning bird watching guide, Rose Mbikwa, leads him to undertake a bet to see who can spot and identify the most birds in a week against his boyhood nemesis, Harry Kahn. The winner gets to ask Rose to the annual Nairobi Hunt Club ball. Kahn goes on expensive safaris to look for exotic birds, while Malik stays closer to home but winds up having wild show more adventures of his own including having his car stolen and being shot at by Somalis.

This is a charming story that would make for a good book to take to the pool or the beach. It’s light, but well written, something that the literary world seems to be in short supply of these days. show less

Four and a half stars. A delightful book. Funny and touching, without being sentimental. It's also refreshing to read a book about a hobby (in this case, birdwatching) where the author not only understands it, but makes it accessible to those who don't. Add the wonderful voice of Humphrey Bower and you have a book you don't want to end. In this case the ending could have been twee or soppy, but was handled with a light touch in keeping with the rest of the narrative.

Set in Nairobi, Kenya, this delightful story captures us with its warm humour , beautiful scenery and sightings of many of its one thousand species of birds. Rose Mbikwa leads a bird watching group on a walk every week for the East Africa Ornithological Society. She's a Scottish widow and Mr. Malik, also widowed, is secretly in love with her and has gone on these walks to enjoy her company for three years now. Just as he's working up the courage to ask her to the Nairobi Hunt Club Ball, the really big social event of the year, his old school nemesis, playboy Harry Kahn, breezes into town announcing that he intends to ask her. Their conversation is witnessed by everyone at the gentlemens' Asadi Club and a way to determine who has the show more right to ask her is determined. Whoever identifies the most birds in a week's time can ask her to the Ball. Mr. Malik, sixty, is described in birders terms as "small, dumpy brown-skinned, nondescrepit; distinguishing feature: hairstyle owes more to artifice than nature" (he has a comb-over). Harry Kahn, playboy, is identified by "brown skin, white hair, white teeth and a tendency to dress in white; distinguishing characteristics: highly ornamented, noted for flamboyant mating display." Harry proceeds by hiring people and vehicles (not strictly according to the rules) as if on a great hunt to chalk up the most birds. Mr. Malik goes about things more quietly and has a few adventures and mishaps along the way but we are rooting for him. The birding details are fascinating as are the detailed pencilled drawings by the author that acompany each chapter heading. But the story also shows some of the corruption in the government and the dangers of being mugged in the everday life of the city. It's a good story, told by a somewhat cheeky narrator, laugh out loud funny in places and well worth reading. I enjoyed it very much. Four stars out of five. show less

Sedate widower Mr Malik is secretly in love with widowed Mrs Mbikwa, leader of the regular Tuesday morning bird walks. When brash Harry Khan also sets his sights on the lady, there is only one way to settle the rivalry: a birdwatching duel. (All strictly regulated by the committee of the gentleman's club, of course. Binoculars at the ready... En garde!)

This is a nice, gentle story with strong, well-drawn characters and the occasional foray into the more serious aspects of life. It's written in an engaging, conversational style, and the light humour is very appealing. Recommended.

Actuarially, I am past middle age. In fact, more than 90% of the world's population is younger than I am. And that shows in the things I care about, read, and buy. Advertisers, take note: Old folks in America are *not lying down to die*! Pay attention to us!

Like the author of this book did. Mr. Malik, a widower and Mrs. Mbikwa, a widow, both of a certain vintage, are the focus of the love story in this book. Each has lost a well-loved spouse, each is living a full, interesting life and each is aware of a...space, an unfilled spot, in life. So what do they do? They go watch birds.

God, doesn't that sound dull? It's not. It's just the starting point for a deft, elegantly made meditation on what love means and how love is transmitted, show more received, and propagated in ever-larger and more complete circles. Drayson creates Rose Mbikwa, nee Macdonald, as that hardest to portray character: the lively, sad, solitary widow of a charismatic man. Her loss and her life are completely, and concisely, and elegantly drawn in less time than lesser prose stylists take to make minor characters. Mr. Malik, a complex and private man, isn't so much drawn as peeled, layer by later, until the things we think we know about him become...well...iceberg-tips of the cold, sad, lonely sea inside him.

But...and this is the biggest but I can imagine...he's *never* whiny, self-pitying, self-obsessed, nothing like that oh nay nay! He's a force in his own life and he's working on making it, and as much of the world as he touches, a better place.

The spirals Drayson spins as Mr. Malik and Mrs. Mbikwa orbit each other are always tightening and yet never constricting or confining our perceptions...this is good stuff, ladies and gentlemen! Good, good craftsmanship and an excellent storytelling eye.

I'd say do yourself a favor and read this book. It's short, only about 200pp, and it's fun, and it's got great substance. Most highly recommended. show less