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摘要
摘要
Set in the 15th century at the time of the Portuguese discovery of the Congo, Peter Forbath's extraordinary novel is the story of a friendship between a Portuguese cabin boy and a Congo prince and of the tragic events that dooms both young men. Based on real events and real people, "Lord of the Congo" is a great, sweeping historical novel about the collision of European culture in Africa.
评论 (4)
出版社周刊评论
Forbath's earlier novel, The Last Hero (1990), took readers on an exhilaratingly treacherous trek through the Congo of 150 years ago. Here, working with real-life events and characters, Forbath dramatizes the "Kongo" of 400 years ago, and the discoveries and depredations of the Portuguese explorers who claimed it as their own. When, in 1482, the Portuguese ship Leonor first navigates the river Zaire, 15-year-old Gil Eames is serving as the captain's page. Soon, Gil is on his way inland with the Kongo prince Mbemba to meet the king, while the Leonor sails on in search of a route to the Indies. Though the mysteries and "magic" of the Portuguese capture the imagination of young Mbemba, the Kongo religious leaders and their monarch fear and mistrust the Europeans. Gil, caught among these interests, becomes enmeshed in dangerous court politics and is stranded when he misses his rendezvous with the Leonor. It will be 10 years before the Portuguese return. During that time, Mbemba is baptized and becomes King Alfonso I. His open-door policy toward the Portuguese eventually attracts the plague, the horrors of the Inquisition and, with the discovery of the New World, slave ships filling their holds with his people. Gil's attempt to balance his conflicting loyalties to Mbemba, his adopted homeland and the Portuguese generates riveting drama. Passionate, vigorous, morally astute, this novel serves as a fine testament to the writing abilities of Forbath, who died earlier this year at age 65. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus评论
Forbath (The Last Hero, 1988, etc.), who died earlier this year, leaves a powerful valedictory based on the real and tragic events precipitated by Portugal's first lodgment in West Africa. In 1482, a caravel dispatched by the Portuguese king to find a sea route to the Indies makes a brief landfall near a mighty river called Zaire by the natives. Leaving the captain's page, 15- year-old Gil Eanes (who's been represented as a royal), to pay the crown's respects to the local chief, the ship sails away, never to return. A talented linguist, Gil impresses the chief and his younger son Mbemba; owing to the enmity of the tribe's juju man, however, he's exiled from the upcountry court to an offshore island well away from established trade routes. Ten years on, the lonely castaway finally flags down another Portuguese vessel. Gil (now with a son by Mbemba's younger sister) gets word of the arrival to Mbemba, who soon after seizes the throne. Eager to learn the art of writing and other of civilization's blessings for his people, the ambitious young prince embraces Catholicism and becomes a vassal of the Portuguese. A decade later, the Portuguese, anxious to settle their new province of Brazil, start casting about for slaves and settle on Mbemba's people, and the Portuguese monarch sends five well-stocked cargo craft to the Kongo (latter-day Zaire). While sanctimonious priests speak of saving souls and building cities on a hill, hard-eyed, well-armed Portuguese soldiers are scouting for bondsmen. Factions long mistrustful of Mbemba rise in rebellion; Gil dies; his son is enslaved; and the Portuguese seize control of the country. Mbemba's penance for the sin of vaulting ambition is to live on as slavers ravage his country and its people. A true adventure brought vividly to live amid the violent social, cultural, and religious conflicts that marked the Dark Continent's first contacts with Europe.
《书目》(Booklist)书评
Forbath's novel about Portuguese colonization of the African Congo in the fifteenth century is both a tale of adventure and exploration and a depiction of the litany of abuses suffered by colonized peoples. When the ship Leonor, seeking a new route to the Indian Ocean, sails up the Congo River, the Portuguese explorers are surprised to discover a wealthy, sprawling metropolis. Gil Eanes, the ship's young page, is sent ashore to deliver greetings to the Congo king. When Gil's journey takes longer than expected, the Leonor sets sail, leaving Gil stranded in the African jungle. Luckily, the king's son, Prince Mbemba, befriends Gil, and eventually, after much hardship and homesickness, Gil realizes that he loves his new home. The Portuguese return, however, and in their attempts to colonize the Africans and convert them to Catholicism, they begin a cycle of violence, hatred, sorrow, and civil war that tears apart the Congo kingdom and destroys Gil's family. Based on real events and people, this epic tale is riveting, suspenseful, and dramatic. --Kathleen Hughes
《图书馆杂志》(Library Journal )书评
Fans of the historical novel will find this work set in 13th-century Africa interesting. Based on actual events, it is the story of a young cabin boy who was abandoned in the Kongo only to be "rescued" many years later when the Portuguese arrive to bring Catholicism to the natives and wealth to themselves. The native Kongo kingdom is sophisticated and receptive to the Portuguese intrusion, but eventually the ruling Kongo monarchs are divided by religion and family disputes. Narrator Maxwell Caulfield provides an engrossing representation of the images, accents, and characters of this complicated story. Most listeners will need to take notes on the characters and locales depicted because these names and places are decidedly foreign to most Americans. Recommended for libraries where historical fiction is popular.Ray Vignovich, West Des Moines P.L., Ia. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.