No Turning Back

by Roger Rees

Louise Davitt, a young Australian anthropologist, and Zeno Wolde, an Ethiopian doctor and fellow anthropologist, research and explore isolated villages and tribal lands in Ethiopia, making fascinating discoveries about the people, the environment and themselves. While working for reform to lift poor peasants out of poverty, they fall in love and marry then have a child. Zeno's work takes him away from home for long stretches of time, then he disappears. Louise visits family in London and is diagnosed with HIV, contracted from Zeno. With effective management and drugs, Louise copes with her serious illness and its stigma-a stigma that at the time in Ethiopia and Kenya, made it impossible for Zeno to seek appropriate treatment. She meets a Norwegian doctor, Haawkon Davos, and builds a new career with its reach and compassion for people with HIV/AIDS, especially across Africa.

522 pages, Paperback

Published April 18, 2018

Reviews

[Jeremy Epstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

My main criticism is that the writing style is a bit dry, and the characters sometimes feel contrived and shallow - I think this is a reflection of the author's lifetime of academic / scientific writing, and his being new to fiction. But, nonetheless, the book gives a wonderful panorama of Ethiopia, a country that I previously knew nothing about. In particular, the account of the Hamar tribe is fascinating, and Rees's on-the-ground research is evident. The narrative on AIDS is heart-wrenching and informative.

[Kim Parish · Rating 3 out of 5]

I nearly gave up on this book in frustration of the stilted conversation and excessive detail that detracted from free flow reading. However I persevered and completed the book with a much more positive frame. The novel had a good story line and provided an interesting insight into Ethiopia and its challenges. It is a shame that Rees wasn’t guided into the transfer of writing from academic to novelist

[Lisa]

I think it might appeal to people interested in adventure stories, but I just couldn't get interested in this one.