Towards Asmara

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Towards Asmara
Author Thomas Keneally
LanguageEnglish
GenreNovel
Publisher Hodder and Stoughton
Publication date
1989
Publication placeAustralia
Media typePrint
Pages272 pp.
ISBN 9780340415177
Preceded by By the Line  
Followed by Flying Hero Class  

Towards Asmara (1989) is a novel by Australian writer Thomas Keneally. It was originally published by Hodder and Stoughton in Australia and the United Kingdom in 1989. [1] The novel is also known by the alternative title To Asmara.

Contents

Synopsis

The novel follows a group of travellers in Eritrea. One of their number, Darcy, an Australian journalist and lawyer, is attempting to prove that the Ethiopians are using international food aid relief as a cover for their gun-running.

Publishing history

After its initial publication in Australia and the UK by Hodder and Stoughton in 1989, [2] the novel was reprinted as follows:

Dedication

Critical reception

Writing in The Canberra Times reviewer Mark Thomas noted: "Over the years Keneally has specialised in earnestly exhuming worthy subjects, ranging from Jimmie Blacksmith to Confederate soldiers to Joan of Arc to (most successfully) Schindler and his ark. With Towards Asmara, he has perfected the technique, in insisting that we (like him) make room for the Eritrean cause in our consciences...The novel is accordingly clogged with factual detail and cluttered with background information, all designed to make the Eritreans a bit more familiar and congenial to us...But, as with Schlinder's Ark, the reader may be left wondering precisely what he is being asked to read. The characters carry a heavy burden of philosophical and political baggage. The plot is thin and slow, focussed on a few foreigners' desultory traipsing around Eritrea in search of an errant father, a requited love, a rebel ambush and a little something to believe in." [4]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Austlit — Towards Asmara by Thomas Keneally 1989". Austlit. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  2. ↑ "Towards Asmara (H&S 1989)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  3. ↑ "Towards Asmara (Sceptre 2002)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  4. ↑ ""Old fashion virtues..."". The Canberra Times, 7 October 1989, p20. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  5. ↑ "Austlit — God or Politics : Tom Keneally in Eritrea". Austlit. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
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