The black skin
The black skin is a novel by the American writer Robert Ruark from 1955. The book deals with the origins and consequences of the Mau Mau uprising in what was then the British colony of Kenya .
action
The action takes place in the British colony of Kenya and spans several decades from the beginning of colonization by the British to the beginning of the independence movement. The plot follows the two main characters, Peter McKenzie and Kimani, from their childhood in the thirties to the outbreak of the Mau Mau uprising in the mid fifties, and portrays the uprising from the perspective of European settlers and the African population. Peter and Kimani are the same age and have been friends since early childhood. Peter is the son of the wealthy British farmer Henry McKenzie. Kimani is the eldest son of Henry McKenzie's African foreman Karanja. Since Peter's mother dies early, he is raised by Kimani's mother. So he gets to know the African culture and way of thinking as well as to speak different African languages. Kimani learns English and gets to know the world of the white settlers. Despite their different origins, Peter and Kimani are like brothers and are unaware of the great cultural and social differences between the European settlers and the indigenous African population. When the two reach adolescence, this difference becomes clear to them. While Peter leads a privileged life, Kimani is lawless and poor. A series of misfortunes leads Kimani to try to kill Peter's brother-in-law with a spear. The man survived the assassination attempt and Kimani flees the farm. He joins a group of outlaw blacks who live in the mountains. The gang thrives on raids on European farms. The gang is part of the Mau Mau movement that wants to drive the Europeans out of the colony. Kimani is forced against his will to recruit members for this project in prisons. Peter is now doing an apprenticeship with a big game hunter and becomes the owner of a safari company. He marries his childhood sweetheart Holly and gives up the hunting business after the wedding to take over his father's farm.
At the start of his honeymoon, Peter learns that a group of Mau Mau fighters has broken into his brother-in-law's farm and killed his family. Only his sister and nephew survive the attack. The original plan of the Mau-Mau to expel the Europeans with a surprising uprising fails and develops into a partisan war in which the Mau-Mau ambush farms and then hide among the local population. Like many other white hunters, Peter joins a militia to track down the Mau Mau in the mountains. He learns that Kimani has joined the Mau-Mau and was responsible for the raid on his brother-in-law's farm. He decides to track down and kill Kimani. Together with other Europeans, Peter roams the wilderness in search of hiding places for the insurgents. They set up a concentration camp and cruelly torture captured Mau Mau fighters in order to obtain information. Peter suffers greatly from the inhuman guerrilla war. When he visits his family, he has nightmares and gets drunk to forget the horrors. His marriage to Holly falls apart. After a few months, Peter poses Kimani in the mountains. The two men see each other for the first time since childhood and are now bitter enemies. Peter kills Kimani in a head-to-head fight and takes Kimani's head as a trophy.
History of origin
The novel is inspired by Ruark's numerous safaris in the former British colonies of Kenya and Tanganyika. Ruark was fascinated by the big game hunting, the lifestyle of the big game hunters and the African nature and describes them in great detail. Ruark's friend and hunting guide Harry Selby served as a role model for the main character Peter McKenzie.
Trivia
At the beginning of the book, Peter McKenzie meets the American couple Thomas and Nancy Deane, who are his hunting guests. The two are the literary counterparts of Robert Ruark and his wife Virginia. The course of the Deans safari is based on Ruark's first African safari in Tanganyika , which he describes in his book The Look of the Buffalo . Thomas Deane resembles Ruark on his first safari in Africa: He is a passionate shotgun shooter and has no experience with hoofed game . He is fearful of big game and has a preference for gin . Nancy Dean's development from the nagging woman in the big city to a satisfied and nature-loving woman also resembles Virginia Ruark's experiences. Ernest Hemingway mentions The Black Skin in his novel The Truth in the Morning Light . While Hemingway is on safari in East Africa, he ironically describes a fictional luxury hotel in the African bush. In his description there are copies of The Black Skin signed by Ruark in every room . Hemingway was Ruark's great literary and personal role model.
literature
- Hemingway, Ernest: True at First Light . Arrow Books, 2004, pp. 221 .
- Ruark, Robert: The Lady and the Leopard . Paul Parey, Singhofen 2014.
- Wieland, Terry: A View From A Tall Hill . Down East Books, 2004.