Appointment in Zambia

Fascinating! I have made a post about this book in my blog dedicated to the Hillman Hunter and other Chrysler/Rootes Arrow series cars www.PaykanHunter.com

A fantastic read, but ... ...What happened to the Hillman Hunter? Has it been rebuilt and survived, did it still serve them for a while in Zambia and does it still exist in Africa somewhere?

This was a wonderful book to read. Once started I could not put it down. There were easier ways to get to Zambia, but all these experiences would have been missed?

They have to make it. Surely they must make it? After all, Sara's telling us the story. A young newlywed couple, hardly out of their teens, decide to drive all the way through Europe and more than halfway across Africa, to join the husband's new job. They can't fail, can they? They've bought a brand new car, so that shouldn't have any difficulty; they're young, strong and healthy. It's 1970, the world is a bright shiny place. Except Africa isn't ready for travellers like these, and they're not ready for Africa. Their car is a straight-off-the-showroom-floor Hillman Hunter, a sturdy piece of kit for normal use, but Ross and Sara will be giving it some very abnormal use indeed. Oh, and its colour is called Golden Sand! This is 1970: before Internet, before mobile phones, before satnav, before AIDS, before Ewan McGregor going The Long Way Down. With breathtaking optimism and scanty preparation (Sara hadn't even learned to drive yet) the young couple meet almost every hazard you can imagine on their trip. How they deal with each one will keep you turning page after page, and in those pages you will meet, as they did, a cast of fleeting acquaintances who will surprise, dismay and cheer you. Told with genuine warmth, love and humour (often directed at themselves) Appointment in Zambia is a satisfying, nail-biting true adventure. You won't be disappointed.

I was privileged to read the mss pre-publication of this fascinating tale. I was immediately impressed with the prose - well written, focused, plenty of tags, showing not telling. They say truth is stranger than fiction and none more in this page turning story. Sara manages to keep my absolute attention from the first page to their arrival in Zambia. I felt I was there, watching helplessly at every life threatening episode. It might be a tale of the 70s but it was as gripping to me as at happened yesterday, Congratulations Sara, I wait for the next book which I guess will have to be fiction! Write On!