Reading this Wilbur Smith novel, three decades after I read the last one, The Dark of the Sun, I quickly realized how far I have strayed from reading popular fiction: like hero Sean Courtney, once you leave home, you can never come back.This book is still a page turner despite its age. Short chapters, each with incidents of dramatic consequence, thread about 20 years of the hero’s life, from his days on the family farm in Natal to his intention of returning home to visit his alcoholic twin brother; the typical hero’s journey: escaping home, adventures abroad and regaining home.Sean is the opposite of his twin Garrick. His ebullience and impulsiveness leaves Garrick a cripple. His lustful impetuousness lands damsels in distress and Garrick has to clean up after him. He fights in the Zulu uprising, sires bastards, makes and loses a fortune in the Witwatersrand, goes elephant hunting in the Limpopo, loses friends, wives, children and, while still in his early thirties, decides to cut his losses and return home with a stash of ivory. That is, if the home he has known can ever be regained. In a nutshell, that is the story, but there are far too many twists and turns in this plot to record or remember everything in between. Smith leaves the book well poised for a sequel, and for many more featuring the Courtney family.The culture of the times is pretty clear: the white man is king, the black man follows and puts his life on hold for his fair master, women are chattels, greed is fuelled by gold, racketeering is rife in frontier towns and “In order to live, man must occasionally kill.” Hunting is a possessive love. Scenes of the South African Veldt, and its flora and fauna are authoritatively drawn.All that said, there is a lot of awkward writing. The characters and their emotions run shallow unlike the deep gold veins that they mine in Johannesburg. Sean bounces back from his many tragedies like a bird shaking off water from its feathers. Some scenes are glossed over for there is too much happening anyway. The foreshadowing is clumsy, almost like an omniscient narrator intruding to alert us to what lies ahead, even reminding us of what is to come during the Boer War, which is outside the time span of this book. The sudden shift in POV, especially when it is carried by a minor or newly arrived character, is jarring. And the melodrama...oh the melodrama... Part three of the book is the best section as it portrays a deeper character investment, as if Smith is maturing in his craft just as Sean is maturing with his many losses.This is a good adventure story and a great debut novel for Smith at the time. My travels will however be into other lands and other books and I will bid the Courtneys “totsiens.”
This was an engaging enough read, touching on those things South African - the Zulu wars, the Dutch influence, gold and diamond mining, cattle ranching, the wholesale slaughter of elephants for their tusks, and the heartache that comes with it all. But after a while it was rather like reading about waves: good things are going to happen, and then bad things are going to happen, but then good things happen, and more bad things happen... it's all unfolding much like a map. The first two parts were stronger than part three. It was as if the author just wanted to wrap things up to set the stage for book two. And what did happen in part three really didn't fit with the rest of the book, again, a means to conclude book one? I did thoroughly enjoy the setting in Africa - the veld, the mountainous country, the dry season, the rainy season, the interaction with the natives, the wildlife. Sean's relationship with Duff was humorous and engaging and Sean's Zulu friends added a nice touch of wit and counterpoint to the harsh backdrop. However, I'm not sure I'm interested enough to pick up Sound of Thunder, which takes Sean off to the Boer Wars and the conflict with his twin brother who's been nursing his hate for 15 years. By the time I finished, I was at a point where, honestly, I almost didn't care any more - the waves are still going to come, and still going to go. Recommended if you like long, page encompassing sagas.
What do You think about When The Lion Feeds (2006)?
Wilbur Smith's first book and the start of the novels following the Courtney family. This book has no overall plot, instead it's all character driven. It starts out with Sean and Garrick Courtney as teenagers growing up on their parents farm in South Africa, but after the first quarter of the book the story only follows Sean. This is not quite what I was expecting, but overall it was a rousing tail of adventure, love, betrayal, exploration, riches and friends gained and lost.Sean leaves the farm after both brothers return home after the Zulu wars. He heads north and meets and sly character called Duff, with whom he joins in the Witwatersrand gold rush and the founding of Johannesburg. After that he becomes and Elephant hunter.There was a bit of foreshadowing in the book that hinted at how it was going to end, which I thought was a bit to spoilery. An enjoyable read of you like the kind of African adventure popularized by H. Rider Haggard. Smith is the modern practitioner, and master, of this type of adventure. My only complaint is that Sean married the wrong woman.. what a dope :)The title comes from a supposed Zulu saying "Something always dies when the lion feeds and yet there is meat for those that follow him."I look forward to continuing the Courtney saga with 'The Sound of Thunder'.Note: I listened to this on Audible and John Lee does a good South African accent.
—AndrewP
Having grown up in Natal, South Africa, I had a special appreciation for this book. Although I grew up in a much different era than Sean, a lot of the scenery has not changed much over the years, and so I enjoyed all of the descriptive writing. This is also the first book that I've ever read by author Wilbur Smith. At times it was rather exciting, with a lot of action and intrigue going on. I was amazed at how well Wilbur Smith was able to characterize all the different people and stay true to their natures. The book is definitely driven by characterization, and so I've been able to learn a lot by how Wilbur Smith writes and how his characters come to live. To the point where one can almost laugh and cry along with them. At times though, the story dragged on for to long harping on one point or another, or seemingly took a tangent to the main story line of Sean. Only in the middle to later, did the story solely focus on Sean, and I enjoyed that tremendously. It got rather boring, whenever the book focused on secondary characters whom I really did not care much for. This book is clearly intended for a mature audience. Most kids and even teens will not enjoy this book.
—Linda Harley
Nie wszystkim książkom udaje się ta sztuka, ale ta wywołała u mnie różne emocje - od radości, poprzez obawę do ogromnego smutku (aż w końcu uroniłem łzę). Zależało mi na bohaterach, ta sama postać potrafiła mnie na pewnym etapie życia irytować, bym później mógł zaobserwować jej przemianę i zacząć jej kibicować. Książka jest dość obszerna, a i tak pozostało masę wątków, które zostały tylko napoczęte - mam nadzieję, że gdzieś są kontynuowane, ponieważ czuję ogromny niedosyt!Podobał mi się klimat Afryki dziewiętnastego wieku. Szczerze mówiąc, nic praktycznie nie wiem na ten temat, więc zacząłem poszerzać swoją wiedzę szukając informacji związanych z przedstawionymi wydarzeniami, miejscami czy postaciami. Zadziwiające jest jak bardzo świat przedstawiony przypomina... Dziki Zachód - podejrzewam, że po prostu historia kolonizacji nowych lądów przez białego człowieka cechuje się pewnymi podobieństwami, niezależnie od tego który kontynent weźmiemy na tapetę. Zawsze sprowadza się to do zagarniania ziemi, podporządkowania sobie lokalnej ludności i eksploatowania złóż naturalnych, a afrykańskie farmy i miasteczka są podobne do tych założonych przez amerykańskich kolonistów.Językowo jest bardzo dobrze, czytanie takiego tekstu sprawia przyjemność samo w sobie - mam wrażenie, że Wilbur Smith to jeden z tych pisarzy, którzy mogliby pisać o lepieniu garnków z gliny przez kilka stron, a ja i tak byłbym zachwycony konstrukcją zdań i mistrzostwem w operowaniu piórem.
—Paweł
