The Weekenders: Travels in the Heart of Africa

by Various, Alex Garland (Contributor), W.F. Deedes (Contributor)

What would happen if you took some of Britain's best writing talent, put them on a plane and flew them to one of the most extraordinary and inaccessible places on the planet? What would happen if you took Irvine Welsh from the streets of Edinburgh and showed him a remote, dangerous village in Africa? What would happen if you flew Alex Garland into one of the world's most hazardous war zones? And how would Tony Hawks react if you dragged him away from his tennis and asked him to write a song with a Sudanese tribesman? With Victoria Glendinning, Andrew O'Hagan, Giles Foden and WF Deedes, these writers have experienced for themselves one of the most beautiful and yet troubled lands in the world - The Sudan. This remarkable collection of short stories and evocative travel writing is their response - as diverse and unpredictable as the country itself.

Genres: Travel, Africa, Short Stories, Fiction

340 pages, Paperback

First published November 8, 2001

About the author

Various is the correct author for any book with multiple unknown authors, and is acceptable for books with multiple known authors, especially if not all are known or the list is very long (over 50).

If an editor is known, however, Various is not necessary. List the name of the editor as the primary author (with role "editor"). Contributing authors' names follow it.

Note: WorldCat is an excellent resource for finding author information and contents of anthologies.

Reviews

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A real mixed bag. I almost quit during the first story, which is so horrible it is responsible for the loss of one star all by itself. On the other hand, the Irvine Welsh story here does not occur in Scotland, uses no dialect, contains no drugs... and is the best thing he's ever written. It's also the longest piece in here, which is good. The piece preceding it is also humorous. But the 3 stars here are all because of Welsh.

[Lee Folsom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

[Tope Salaudeen-Adégòkè · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, it's cannot really be classified as a travel writing that it pretends to be.

[John Ingham · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall very depressing and anger-inducing. Want that keen on any of the stories but still found the subject matter really interesting. Poverty, war, arms trading and aid agencies.

[Eamonn Dillon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Thought provoking and and really interesting.

[Mrityunjay Gupta · Rating 3 out of 5]

A compilation of short stories written by a pool of renowned British writers who travel to the heart of "Sudan - the war zone"

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This incisive, insightful collection is what happens when several writers skilled at their craft and keen to travel are brought to the Sudan and asked to write stories based on the experience.

Tony Hawks, best known to me for his 'Round Ireland With A Fridge' wrote, typically, of his excursion and companions.

Other authors gave us a chilling, gentle ghost story of two boys playing and watching two men assessing a ruined, war-destroyed school. Or a long journey through the bush with a reluctant taxi man who begins to weep as he realises that he has made the wrong decision, and his passengers have the weapons. Or we learn how the oil extraction has caused the poisonous snakes to move from the affected part of the country into areas where people and animals live.

This is not a cheerful collection, but it is worth reading to develop an understanding of some of the appalling problems facing this region. Authors include Victoria Glendenning and Giles Foden (author of The Last King Of Scotland) who gave their time to create this book sold in aid of charity. If I recall rightly a charity to benefit was War Child which creates playgrounds in strife-torn towns and cities, so children can play safely.

[SadieReadsAgain · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of writing about Sudan published back in 2001 when a group of authors and journalists visited the war-torn south of the country. They then wrote inspired by their time there and published it to raise funds and awareness.

I’m not sure I can say this book taught me anything more about the political side of the conflict, which still wages on even now. But to be honest I’m more interested in the human aspect, and I feel this book struck a note in that respect. I’ve never read a short story or writing collection – especially when it’s been written by a number of different authors – and been blown away by every single piece…but to be honest I wasn't all that excited by any of the pieces in this book. It started off on a high note with Alex Garland’s very short story, but other than that it was a bit bland. I think its mission is stronger than its individual components, which I suppose is fine in a charity effort, but it’s not going to end up on my favourites shelf! I’m still glad I read it though, as I feel it taught me something.

[Ilmatte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ancora una volta non sono certo che la categoria sia quella giusta. Comunque, sette autori inglesi sono stati inviati, per qualche giorno, a vivere il dramma della guerra civile sudanese. Ognuno l'ha raccontata a suo modo, i voti dovrebbero andare dal 5 al 10. 5: perché non fare i nomi? perché inventarsi un nome di un paese inesistente, per raccontare un problema reale? 10: la cruda realtà, l'orrore delle mine, della fame, della sete, delle malattie, delle armi... le armi... i bambini venduti come mercenari per sfamare le famiglie... una tragedia che non ha interessi economici, e per questo resta nell'ombra.

http://bookcrossing.com/journal/1863644

[Alene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ordered this trying to get my hands on more Alex Garland material and found more authors to follow now.

The book's goal is to bring a deeper understanding to the civil war in Sudan that has spanned several decades. Though this is over 10 years old now and there have been a number of political changes since it was written, the questions it brings up and many of the same and similar scenarios exist there still and in other parts of the globe. Good for deep thinking and questioning what you thought you knew or how you thought you might make an impact in the world.

[Elie · Rating 2 out of 5]

What do you get when you invite a handful of Britain's best young writers on a press trip to Southern Sudan? Short stories that attempt to grapple stereotypically with Poverty, First-World Apathy and Civil War. It's a pity this book isn't travel writing; the best parts are when the young Britishers' honest and well-written reactions to Africa shine out and leave their lame attempts at fictionalizing a complex conflict in the dust.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its an interesting idea to get together well-known current authors and ask that they travel to South Sudan and then write short story pieces. I found many of them very real - well real from what I know after being here only 1 week. But a lot of the stories are similar, which I suppose is due to them all traveling together.

[David Tendo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first few stories were pretty interesting, but the rest of it was just a waste of time. I read this book hoping that it'll give me more insight and information about what's actually going on in the warring parts of Africa while being entertaining, but this did neither.

[Mhdumais · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why would anyone consider that a travel book? Not so sure.. A bit depressing. Maybe eye opening, but then again.. A little cliché!