Book Description

Jigajig is a novel about Africa and the way that it has evolved over the last forty years. Money, sex, power, and politics all play a part but there is no solemnity in this tale, which relies on the Swahili concept, Shauri ya Mungu, meaning 'the affair of God.' This phrase is used liberally in East Africa to indicate that any misfortune is due to the whim of divine authority and not to human mismanagement. The story is related through the eyes of Gavin Oatskin, who began his career as a young economist in an imaginary country called Kenzika and became the CEO of a multi-national organization, rejoicing in the name of FATSO. An honourable man and a true friend of Africa, Gavin is appointed to run the country by the United Nations but the experiment misfires. Told in a series of episodes spread between 1967 and 2005, the action involves a range of colourful associates and moves between Kenzika, Britain, South Africa, and Australia. It is left to the reader to decide whether there is still hope for Africa's future.