Exile

White, over-privileged, bored, Sam and her friends at Moshi’s International School in Tanzania are all searching for something, but don’t know what; instead they seek solace in parties, drugs, alcohol and casual sex. But Sam’s family is fragmenting; Mum goes ‘home’ to England, her father’s shady business in arms and mercenaries is revealed, and sister, Alison, deserts her for marriage and motherhood. Plunging into an unsuitable liaison with one of her father’s colleagues, Sam spirals downwards into depression; will she ever discover where she truly belongs?

With its short, snap-shot sections and unemotional, spare style, the tone of this novel about troubled, ex-pat teenagers is hard-hitting. Bleak, yes: but also an intriguing portrait of a former colonial society, facing unprecedented social and political change.