The
Day of the Orphan
Dr
Nat Tanoh
Genre: Fiction, General Fiction
Publisher: Acorn
Publication Date: May 25 2018
ISBN: 9781912145560
Book Description:
Like many eighteen-year-old boys,
Saga’s prime concerns are: listening to music his mum calls “hop-hip”, learning
about girls from his suave best mate Ibrahim, and making sure his considerable
tummy is well-fed. In his affluent, liberal and relatively protected suburb
life is pretty good, especially when his mum’s special peanut soup is on the
table.
However, in Africa, childhoods
can be snatched in an instant, especially when you live in a dictatorship. When
his friends and family are dragged into the conflict, he is given no choice.
Chubby Saga becomes an unlikely revolutionary, but these are very dangerous
times. Their violent President Brewman has built their country on fear and even
he, himself, is terrified. Spies, traps and double-dealings lie everywhere. Can
one happy-go-lucky schoolboy really stand up to a murderous regime? How long
can he stay one step ahead of the Zombie soldiers that will do anything to stop
him?
This thought-provoking coming of
age story touches on many of Africa’s biggest problems today.
Book
Trailer: https://youtu.be/NH3ahDkO2sU
Available at Amazon
Excerpt:
After the
quasi-formal welcome, the headmaster and form master hastily stood aside,
moving backwards towards the blackboard so the Deputy Minister could take over
by posing his questions directly to the students as part of his verification
process. The bodyguards also placed themselves at the two front corners of the
classroom behind the Minister, and commenced an inexplicable process of
touching their earpieces with equally inexplicable regularity.
Mr Com, who now
had the floor, asked if anyone would volunteer to go first, and a still very
annoyed Saga impulsively raised his hand before any of the others could. The
New Patriotism issue was indeed a very sore point with Saga. He was still
plagued with guilt that he had not been present to defend his bosom friend,
Ibrahim, when he was beaten up badly by New Patriotism fanatics who happened to
be students in their own school. Subconsciously, it was as though he thus felt
the urge to be the one to face any New Patriotism ‘onslaught’ from officialdom
within their school. As to how he would deflect such an onslaught, he had
absolutely no idea. It was a subconsciously inspired impulsiveness so he simply
had to wing it.
‘Well, well – I
see we have an eager beaver in our midst,’ he smiled at Saga, who did not
return the smile. The headmaster, and the form master, and all the five men and
one woman who made up the Minister’s entourage, however, giggled rather
obsequiously at this sally. They truly understood the meaning of grovelling to
those on high. The Deputy Minister turned and rewarded them all with an openly
condescending smile.
‘Okay mister
serious young man, let’s start. So, tell me, who is your mother under our New
Patriotism?’ Mr Com boomed out his question.
Saga knew the
answer he was to give and did so correctly. ‘My mother is the Great South Party
of President Brewman!’
Mr Com was
pleased. ‘Not bad, not bad,’ he said, and nodded happily towards the
headmaster, who gave an equally satisfied beam in response.
‘And who is your
father?’ Mr Com boomed yet again.
Saga again
answered correctly. ‘My father is the Great Leader of our nation, His Supreme
Excellency and President-For-Life-Until-Further-Notice Field Marshal Brewman.’
Both Messrs Com
and Money now beamed in unison. The entourage and form master were not far
behind in this beaming effort.
‘Well done my
boy, well done.’ Mr Com smiled a vastly complacent smile at Saga.
‘Tell me, my
bright, young friend – so what would you like to be when you grow up?’
This was far
from being a question about future careers such as wanting to be a doctor or
lawyer or pilot. Saga knew he should answer something along the lines of
wanting to grow up to be a dedicated follower of the President or the Party.
However, Saga inhaled and dropped his bombshell. ‘I would like to be an ORPHAN
when I grow up,’ he said with utmost seriousness.
About
the Author:
Dr Nat Tanoh comes from Ghana but
grew up in exile, as a child, in England due to his parents’ opposition to the
installation of a one-party state. Today he divides his time between England
(London) and Ghana. He has a rich history of involvement in student and workers
movements, which originally emerged from struggles against the
institutionalisation of military rule in Ghana. Dr Nat has since worked as a
consultant on development projects in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa. He also
continues to uphold a passion for democratic social development.
The Day of the Orphan is Dr Nat
Tanoh’s debut novel.
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