Thirst

by Giles Foden

'Every new novel by Giles Foden is something to celebrate - my hand leaps to the shelf' PAUL THEROUX
'The most original and interesting novelist of his generation' ALLAN MASSIE, SCOTSMAN

2039, the Skeleton Coast of Namibia. 160,000 kilometres-square of ocean-crashed desert, littered with bones, shipwrecks and shattered dreams.

Cat Brosnan, a young scientist, has just arrived, aiming to track down a much-needed water source believed to lie hidden within this vast and hostile landscape. Six years before, the search for that same fabled aquifer had led Cat's own mother to abandon her daughter in Ireland, never to be heard of again.

Now Cat is ready to find out what happened to her mother, to succeed where she failed and finally discover the whereabouts of a freshwater reserve hidden under sand and rock. But she's not the only one looking for the mining corporations want it, foreign governments too, never mind all those others who need it just to survive. In a world of sand, sun and water wars, the aquifer begins to seem like a fantasy, Cat's quest for it a mission to find her own true self.

Genres: Fiction

304 pages, Paperback

Published January 20, 2026

About the author

Giles Foden is an English novelist, journalist and academic best known for The Last King of Scotland. Born in Warwickshire, he moved with his family to Malawi in 1972 after his grandfather's death led them to sell their farm. He attended Yarlet Hall and Malvern College before studying English at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, and later St John's College. Foden began at Media Week, then became assistant editor of The Times Literary Supplement. From 1995 to 2006, he served as deputy literary editor of The Guardian. His debut novel, The Last King of Scotland (1998), portrays Uganda under Idi Amin and won the Whitbread First Novel Award, the Somerset Maugham Award, the Betty Trask Award and the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize. It was adapted into a 2006 film starring Forest Whitaker. His other fiction includes Ladysmith (1999), Zanzibar (2002) and Turbulence (2009). He wrote the nonfiction book Mimi and Toutou Go Forth (2004). Foden has taught creative writing at Royal Holloway and is a professor at the University of East Anglia.

Reviews

[Clare Greenup · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a bit conflicted about this book. There were parts I loved (the journal and the final third of the book), other bits not so much (the transition from first Catherine to Cat was sketchy).
I bought this while I was travelling in Namibia and, being amongst sand dunes, deserts and vast dryness, the book came alive for me.
I think I would have given it 4 stars but there’s a slightly jerky style to the prose which I struggled with for much of the book.

[David Grieve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ended up really enjoying this, but it did take a while to get into it. The main story is about an Irish woman's expedition to Namibia to seek her mother and an aquifer (she's a hydrologist), sponsored by the Chinese authorities. There is a lot more to it than this and it is part adventure story and part a study of the importance of water both in a country where it is desperately short, Namibia, and where there is an abudance, Ireland. Also a study of a country riven by foreign involvement.

The writing is interesting with lots of metaphors throughout, some quite convoluted, which a takes a bit of getting used to, but it's worth it. The voice changes regularly as well and certain phrases come out as if thought by a particular character, rather than the third person narrator.

The characters were convincing and well drawn and the settings were excellent - especially the desert. There is also plenty of stuff about aquifers, if that's your thing!!

For me, once it got going, it was an exciting adventure, beautifully written, with a lot more in besides.

[T P Kennedy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disappointing book. The premise seems promising but it doesn't deliver. There's two almost unconnected narrative threads, neither of which is really resolved. It's a frustrating book with a scarcely believable plot and cardboard cut out characters. Finished as a hate read.

[Finlay Porter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Initially I was a bit dubious but this became quite compelling and a very enjoyable read. Classic quest narrative with a few good twists, some neo-colonial commentary and eco-criticism, and some touchingly human interactions in a sort of dystopian setting

[Rob Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts well but degenerates. How well does it depict Africa - at a guess so so.

[Coleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I slogged through this one . . . only thing I really liked was the ending . . . ugh.

[sally davidson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Implausible in many places but quite enjoyable. Not really my genre