Breakfast with Kamuzu

Authentic novels are rare and “Breakfast with Kamuzu” is just one of those gems set in the small African country of Malawi in the 1980s.  The protagonist is a white-skinned rock-climbing American expatriate teaching computers to Malawians just as the technology was catching on.  In rotating chapters there is a compelling biography of Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda, the First and longest standing ‘President For Life’ of Malawi, which is balanced off by the writer’s story of climbing adventure in Malawi. The author lived in Malawi from 1987-1989 and captures the sights, sounds, beliefs, and ultimate good-nature of the Africans in admirable style.  Most books written by foreigners on Africa, often without even realizing it, find prejudices convenient whereas this author constantly exposes the foibles of all humans regardless of race, nationality or politics.  Readers who enjoy adventure, political history, climbing and humor with enjoy “Breakfast with Kamuzu.”