Africa, Here And There

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30977, 5 February 1966, Page 4

Africa, Here And There

A Scorpion on a Stone. By Gwyn Griffin. Collins. 224 PP. These four stories and two autobiographical sketches are cleverly written. Effectively set in different parts of Africa they all show a deep and pleasant scepticism—particularly towards officialdom. The first story, “Dawn at Reyn’s Kop,” is set in a British protectorate. A Boer has been sentenced to death for fatally beating an African servant. “The hangman was also black but arrangements were being made to fly a white executioner out from Britain so that Holtje’s neck might be broken without hurting his feelings.” He escapes, and troops are used to bunt him. In one of the most unkindly amusing episodes in the book, orders are given by a silly colonel whose main characteristic is ability to survive gunshot wounds. The story culminates vividly in fighting and death, but is weakened by an uncharacteristic insistence of labouring the point. “Composition Piece” shows, from the sardonic point of view of an African musician, some of the difficulties caused by an English couple intent on undoing the harm done by their predecessors. “They were . . . above all, humanists widely read, liberal in opinions, immensely tolerant The natives hated them bitterly and with an intense distrust.” Most of their attitudes come under fire, and there is some maliciously pointed dialogue. A French colonial outpost is the scene of “To lave in Peace,” an ironie account of the harm done by an officer

“with a peculiar and apparently ineradicable tendency to make the wrong decisions for the wrong reasons, though generally based on perfectly sound interpretation of military regulations.” The main fault of the story is a clumsy mixture of French phrases in English dialogue, to indicate nationality. But some neat contrasts are developed, and the inevitable end is still shocking. "The Picnic,” dealing with European diplomats and their families in an oil-rich state ruled by nervous revolutionaries, shows the author’s typically acute observation of people.

The last 42 pages recount some of Mr Griffin’s experiences in World War H, first as secretary to a British army commander and then in command of a mule train. There are numerous targets for his caustic humour, and he does not spare himself. The taut, economical writing Of “A Scorpion on a Stone” is a pleasure to read. Griffin shows remarkable insight into social distinctions and relationship in Africa—between whites, coloureds, and blacks; natives, settlers, and administrators; competent people and fools. But his understanding does not prevent him from showing a detached sort of liking for at least some of the characters he depicts with such skill.

The United States Government has just issued a pamphlet called “World Population and Food Crisis.” It contains some reassuring news for us ail. “Many concerns have contracts for resources running twenty-five or fifty yean from now. For example, Kleenex has contracts that extend to the year 2060.”