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MAN OF BEES
MAN OF BEES
A TOUCHING AFRICAN STORY, BY OLIVER STUART YORKOliver's Man of Bees is a cracking good an African thriller that proves that few people are truly bad-or good. Not since Wild Geese has a writer from Zimbabwe produced an edge of the seat tale that keeps you turning the pages late into the night-and it has the added advantage of being an apparently true story.Book one is the best-balanced account of Rhodesia's bush war I have read. I particularly liked the bit when African bushcraft outwits Western military might. And the account of a Zanla camp that might have been Chimoio will have greybeards of both colours shaking their heads.York has a remarkable understanding of what it was like to be a guerrilla, living in the bush like a wild animal and how young Rhodesian men felt being called up to fight a war in which the numbers were stacked against them.Dhina, the Man of Bees, is a heart-warming character. He survived losing his job, his family and then the civil war with enviable equanimity and it is his genuine warmth, which reaches out to help strangers, that makes him endearing. Then his understanding of his environment and how to use it to best advantage makes fascinating reading and is the key advantage of Zanla's most feared group of insurgents.In the second book York, a British orphan adopted and brought to Rhodesia returns to newly independent Zimbabwe after an enriching stint on the North Sea oil rigs. He buys a small engineering works with his savings and rents a house next door to the he is a colonel in the newly created Zimbabwe National Army and the household includes Tsitsi, a pretty blonde, blue-eyed child who is drawn to York and his swimming pool.How did she end up with the Kufas? What is her how well do they care for her or is she the Cinderella of the household, paying for white supremacy and Ian's Smith's vow that no black would rule Rhodesia in 1,000 years? Her story forms the backbone of the book, linking back to the earlier section and taking the tale onto three continents. The tension is relentless and the denouement totally unexpected. I can't wait for the film.Jill Day, Harare, 2016.
A TOUCHING AFRICAN STORY, BY OLIVER STUART YORKOliver's Man of Bees is a cracking good an African thriller that proves that few people are truly bad-or good. Not since Wild Geese has a writer from Zimbabwe produced an edge of the seat tale that keeps you turning the pages late into the night-and it has the added advantage of being an apparently true story.Book one is the best-balanced account of Rhodesia's bush war I have read. I particularly liked the bit when African bushcraft outwits Western military might. And the account of a Zanla camp that might have been Chimoio will have greybeards of both colours shaking their heads.York has a remarkable understanding of what it was like to be a guerrilla, living in the bush like a wild animal and how young Rhodesian men felt being called up to fight a war in which the numbers were stacked against them.Dhina, the Man of Bees, is a heart-warming character. He survived losing his job, his family and then the civil war with enviable equanimity and it is his genuine warmth, which reaches out to help strangers, that makes him endearing. Then his understanding of his environment and how to use it to best advantage makes fascinating reading and is the key advantage of Zanla's most feared group of insurgents.In the second book York, a British orphan adopted and brought to Rhodesia returns to newly independent Zimbabwe after an enriching stint on the North Sea oil rigs. He buys a small engineering works with his savings and rents a house next door to the he is a colonel in the newly created Zimbabwe National Army and the household includes Tsitsi, a pretty blonde, blue-eyed child who is drawn to York and his swimming pool.How did she end up with the Kufas? What is her how well do they care for her or is she the Cinderella of the household, paying for white supremacy and Ian's Smith's vow that no black would rule Rhodesia in 1,000 years? Her story forms the backbone of the book, linking back to the earlier section and taking the tale onto three continents. The tension is relentless and the denouement totally unexpected. I can't wait for the film.Jill Day, Harare, 2016.
394 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 2, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 30, 2025
Touching story about how war impacts everyone and coming together. Super interesting to learn more about Zimbabwe
December 31, 2025
excellent reading
Very interesting and totally enjoyed reading this book
Having lived in Rhodesia and going through the terrible times of war I could relate to many instances
Every person has a story to tell and we should all share it to ensure that those people who died will never be forgotten
It will always be my home
Very interesting and totally enjoyed reading this book
Having lived in Rhodesia and going through the terrible times of war I could relate to many instances
Every person has a story to tell and we should all share it to ensure that those people who died will never be forgotten
It will always be my home
July 30, 2023
I loved this book, a beautiful story which threads the triumph of the human spirit and love through the insanity of politics and war all through cities and places I know and love.
March 15, 2023
I really enjoyed this most unusual book
Set in Zimbabwe to start with and then moving on to the UK
It is a must read for anybody who was involved or knows about the Rhodesian war
For them it is a must read
Set in Zimbabwe to start with and then moving on to the UK
It is a must read for anybody who was involved or knows about the Rhodesian war
For them it is a must read
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews