Part birding, part romance, all charm. This week's book is Nicholas Drayson's A Guide to the Birds of East Africa. It won the top spot of the five I read.
Drayson tells the story of Mr. Malik, rival Harry Kahn and their unique wager for the prize of asking the widow Mrs Mbikwa to the Hunt Club Ball.
Mr. Malik is the quintessential underdog, although Mrs. Mbikwa makes for a delightful change in the femme fatale role. All three of the main characters are well past middle age, but the book doesn't treat them as caricatures of elderly. We are just as emotionally invested in the outcome as if they had their whole lives ahead of them. As indeed they do. Plus you get a pretty comprehensive listing of some of the notable birds of Kenya without feeling like you've read a field guide.
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