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Root that Mountain
"Evan Balkan's writing is transportive. At its heart, Root That Mountain is a story about an everyman, or, rather, an every-son, Felix, who takes on a leading role, traveling to West Africa to retrieve the body of his slain father. Against the backdrop of a war torn Sierra Leone, Balkan's remarkable book stretches across continents and reads as if it was lifted directly from John le Carr�. I couldn't put it down."
-Cathy Alter, journalist and author
In Sierra Leone, Africa, the civil war has finally ended while American Felix Laszlo's war has just begun.
After Felix's father, a doctor volunteering in Sierra Leone, is murdered by Revolutionary United Front soldiers, he must go to Africa to retrieve his father's body. While there, Felix realizes how little he knew about his father...and Africa.
Among the war-torn city, greed, corruption, and the illicit "blood diamond" trade, Felix finds an unlikely friend in a Nigerien renegade soldier, Issa Manzo. As his guide, Issa shows Felix the underbelly as well as the beauty of Africa. Soon, Felix discovers that his investigation into this land his father loved so much carries dark secrets, unforgettable heartbreak, and surprising joy.
-Cathy Alter, journalist and author
In Sierra Leone, Africa, the civil war has finally ended while American Felix Laszlo's war has just begun.
After Felix's father, a doctor volunteering in Sierra Leone, is murdered by Revolutionary United Front soldiers, he must go to Africa to retrieve his father's body. While there, Felix realizes how little he knew about his father...and Africa.
Among the war-torn city, greed, corruption, and the illicit "blood diamond" trade, Felix finds an unlikely friend in a Nigerien renegade soldier, Issa Manzo. As his guide, Issa shows Felix the underbelly as well as the beauty of Africa. Soon, Felix discovers that his investigation into this land his father loved so much carries dark secrets, unforgettable heartbreak, and surprising joy.
350 pages, Paperback
Published March 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 3, 2022
‘The deceased is unidentifiable’ – An electrifying mystery
Maryland author Evan Balkan earned his degrees from Towson, George Mason and Johns Hopkins universities and teaches writing at he Community College of Baltimore County. His books to date – SHIPWRECKED!, VANISHED!, WALKING BALTIMORE, THE WRATH OF GOD, THE BEST IN TENT CAMPING, 60 HIKES WITHIN 60 MILES, and now ROOT THAT MOUNTAIN DOWN.
Genetics and ancestry apps continue to fascinate the public on the media sites, and this new novel by Evan Balkan provides a fine fictional search to the past that will appeal to a wide audience. Understanding the need of a dramatic prelude to a novel, he opens with the following atmosphere: ‘It’s an unspeakable smell. The smell of death. The ripping open of animal to let out the demons, loosing the jumble of organ and bone and tissues and exposing it to open air where microbe and maggot and mosquito can do their work. Black piles of waste swarming h insects fill clearings in the woods, just beyond the demarcated perimeter where decrepit buildings totter in the heat. Two scraggly roosters barely muster up the energy to chase each other in languid circles amidst food wrappers and beer cans. Muddy men wearing flip-flops cradle tattered playing cars and AK-47s.’ This grueling entre opens a memorable novel!
The overview of the content of this impressive book invites attention: ‘Felix Laszlo is on a somber mission: Retrieving the body of his murdered father, a doctor who had volunteered to treat the civilian casualties in war-torn Sierra Leone, and bringing him home to be buried in the United States. Along the way Felix will discover how little he knew about his father, Africa and himself. Once in Africa, Felix will see first-hand the greed and corruption that is commonplace in the "blood diamond" trade. But he will also find beauty, heartbreak, joy as well as the path to his future.’
Successful on many levels, not the last of which is the fine quality of writing, this is a novel that provides insights into family factors while presenting a captivating and absorbing read. Highly recommended.
Maryland author Evan Balkan earned his degrees from Towson, George Mason and Johns Hopkins universities and teaches writing at he Community College of Baltimore County. His books to date – SHIPWRECKED!, VANISHED!, WALKING BALTIMORE, THE WRATH OF GOD, THE BEST IN TENT CAMPING, 60 HIKES WITHIN 60 MILES, and now ROOT THAT MOUNTAIN DOWN.
Genetics and ancestry apps continue to fascinate the public on the media sites, and this new novel by Evan Balkan provides a fine fictional search to the past that will appeal to a wide audience. Understanding the need of a dramatic prelude to a novel, he opens with the following atmosphere: ‘It’s an unspeakable smell. The smell of death. The ripping open of animal to let out the demons, loosing the jumble of organ and bone and tissues and exposing it to open air where microbe and maggot and mosquito can do their work. Black piles of waste swarming h insects fill clearings in the woods, just beyond the demarcated perimeter where decrepit buildings totter in the heat. Two scraggly roosters barely muster up the energy to chase each other in languid circles amidst food wrappers and beer cans. Muddy men wearing flip-flops cradle tattered playing cars and AK-47s.’ This grueling entre opens a memorable novel!
The overview of the content of this impressive book invites attention: ‘Felix Laszlo is on a somber mission: Retrieving the body of his murdered father, a doctor who had volunteered to treat the civilian casualties in war-torn Sierra Leone, and bringing him home to be buried in the United States. Along the way Felix will discover how little he knew about his father, Africa and himself. Once in Africa, Felix will see first-hand the greed and corruption that is commonplace in the "blood diamond" trade. But he will also find beauty, heartbreak, joy as well as the path to his future.’
Successful on many levels, not the last of which is the fine quality of writing, this is a novel that provides insights into family factors while presenting a captivating and absorbing read. Highly recommended.
March 30, 2022
The Review
This was both an emotional and culturally significant read. The narrative did such an amazing job of really delving into the horrors and struggles of the wars and ruthless blood diamond trade in Africa. The novel captures so many themes that readers are going to be able to relate to, from the concept of families and how they work to the culture of violence that exists within war-torn countries and the misconceptions and prejudices that exist against the people of Africa as a whole. The striking clash of the violent attacks on both the people of Africa and those doctors and volunteers who come to help with the prejudice that people have against all African citizens as a result of the violence highlights the never-ending cycle of hatred and pain that continues to this day.
The character growth in this narrative was the perfect vehicle for the themes of this story. The complexity of the protagonist’s mission as Felix grapples with his father’s brutal loss while also seeking firsthand the violence and struggles the people of Africa are facing themselves makes this such a brilliant story, and the balance of mystery and action with the pops of romance and emotional family drama made this such an enrapturing story to behold.
The Verdict
Haunting, engaging, and thought-provoking, author Evan Balkan’s “Root That Mountain Down” is a must-read novel. The clashes of grief and anger mixed with both the horrors of war and the hope that survives in the face of that war made this both a complex yet a much-needed story that I just couldn’t put down.
This was both an emotional and culturally significant read. The narrative did such an amazing job of really delving into the horrors and struggles of the wars and ruthless blood diamond trade in Africa. The novel captures so many themes that readers are going to be able to relate to, from the concept of families and how they work to the culture of violence that exists within war-torn countries and the misconceptions and prejudices that exist against the people of Africa as a whole. The striking clash of the violent attacks on both the people of Africa and those doctors and volunteers who come to help with the prejudice that people have against all African citizens as a result of the violence highlights the never-ending cycle of hatred and pain that continues to this day.
The character growth in this narrative was the perfect vehicle for the themes of this story. The complexity of the protagonist’s mission as Felix grapples with his father’s brutal loss while also seeking firsthand the violence and struggles the people of Africa are facing themselves makes this such a brilliant story, and the balance of mystery and action with the pops of romance and emotional family drama made this such an enrapturing story to behold.
The Verdict
Haunting, engaging, and thought-provoking, author Evan Balkan’s “Root That Mountain Down” is a must-read novel. The clashes of grief and anger mixed with both the horrors of war and the hope that survives in the face of that war made this both a complex yet a much-needed story that I just couldn’t put down.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews