Dark and Cold

by Rubin Johnson

A young Black American is imprisoned in the small African country of Rwanda. He learns firsthand how discrimination and terror transcend race. This encounter foreshadows the genocide of Tutsis in the 1990s. This story is based on true events.

81 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 25, 2014

About the author

Intent on squashing memories of his formal academic education, Rubin took to the road for over a year of adventure travel—backpacking first across Africa, and then across Asia.

Being schooled by the world enhanced life lessons and fostered even more appreciation of history, economics, science, and literature. With luck, some of these ideas inform Rubin's writing.

Rubin is an avid endurance athlete having completed multiple Ironman distances including IM Canada and IM Lake Tahoe. When he writes, his Chesapeake Bay retriever, Hunter, is often nearby.

Find out more from the website mayberryoil.com.

Reviews

[Emma Jaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rubin brings the atmosphere and environment of Rwanda from the perspective of a black american tourist to life in this short story about being caught up in the political upheaval which was to end in the genocide of the Tutsi population. Unfortunately for the protagonist, he happens to look like a member of the minority tribe and after being caught taking perfectly innocent tourist photos he is arrested.
The matter of fact way the other Rwandan prisoners accept their confinement, and the vast differences between the justice system in the west and Africa is poignant. I can't help wondering what happened to the other characters, knowing what was to happen just a few years later.

The few lines that introduced the book and tried to tie it into Rubin's main series 'Mayberry multisport adventure' didn't really work for me. This was a true biographical story, and I think the narration coming from a grandfather somewhere in out current future, with reminder of how different things were back then with no 'holos' was unnecessary and detracted a little from the story. I would like to read more of Mr Johnson's adventures in Africa, as he has a way of bringing the vibrant continent and its people to life.

[Rory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rubin Johnson's novella DARK AMD COLD transports the reader to strife ridden 1982 Rwanda. Writing in the first person Mr. Johnson tells the come-of-age story of a black American tourist confronted with the realities of life, politics, and justice in equatorial Africa. The writing is crisp and the dialogue believable. Interestingly he chooses to also include the first-person perspective of American Embassy council, Kate Bonelles. This certainly adds to the development of the story and gives a second perspective to the events unfolding during the protagonists difficulties with Rwandan authorities. I have not typically read stories with multiple perspectives that were not written in third person. Overall though this worked for me and as it was based on historical events this did not seem in anyway contrived.
I came away with a better understanding of the distinctly different circumstances that peoples in third world countries live under. As well, I feel Mr. Johnson was able to communicate to me, the reader, some of the reasons that members of those societies choose or are forced to deal with adversity in ways that Americans might find odd. In the vane of disclosure I will mention that I read and did the review of DARK AND COLD as a member of the Goodreads.com author review group. I did purchase the novella on Amazon.com

[Bill Jacks · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of a man held captive in a Rwandan prison—yikes. My immediate thoughts were: AIDS, human fecal troths, way too hot, mutilated bodies (you know, because of that one movie), and, of course…AIDS. I was terrified.

I’ll start with the bad: I didn’t like all the perspective changes. The brief spotlight on American Embassy worker “Kate” distracted me from what I liked about the story. Since it’s based on true events, the fact that this story is being told by an old man, to his grandson, many years later, takes some credibility away and further distracts.

The good: I’ve never been to Rwanda, so the little things interest me—a grown man sleeping in the same bed as his also male house guest like it’s a normal thing, Rwandan prison etiquette (which is surprisingly polite). These quiet observations, when the author takes a step back from the play-by-play to report on his strange surroundings and the characters within—that’s when this story shines. That’s when it feels real. That’s when I want more.

[Gloria Piper · Rating 4 out of 5]

A man tells his grandchildren what happened to him in the 1980s. While the exchange between them lightens the tone of an otherwise scary adventure, I find it intrusive and unnecessary. Besides that, multisport is only mentioned as an aside.

In this story, stereotypes collide with reality.

After earning his PhD at Harvard, an American tours African and discovers his roots in Rwanda. There, trouble erupts when he takes photographs, and he is arrested and imprisoned. Frustrations in communication turn frightening. Because of his looks, he cannot convince authorities he is an American.

This drama has just enough description to put us there and just enough length to show us what Rwanda was like in the 1980s. We see the people, the towns. We look inside the prison, and we see how the American Embassy works to free our protagonist.

An enlightening, worthwhile read.