Elephant Song .... artistic license???
Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 7:47 am
I am currently re-reading Elephant Song, one of his great stand alone novels in my eyes.
Must say though there are a few things that are getting my goat about certain inaccuracies I have noticed. Normally he is spot on accurate with facts about real places he chooses to use as the settings for his books. (My brother lived in a house he talked about in one of his early books ... the description was spot on!)
One of the first I came across was the mention of the colour of the ZIM$10 dollar note Daniel used as a bribe to use the telephone at Mana Pools police station - Why mention the colour of the note if you are going to get it wrong?
The second is when the border official tells Daniel Cheti Singh crossed the Chirundu border post just after midnight - that border post has never been open all night. It closes between 6pm and 6am and always has done.
A third one is the description of the shanti township on the outskirts of Lusaka - The southern entry to Lusaka is one of the only ones that does not pass through a shanti town.
I know these have no affect on the story but it just amazes me that when he goes into such detail about real places he can get it so wrong yet in other books when he uses real places and not fiction he gets it so right?
In case anyone is confused ... I was born and brought up in Zambia.
Must say though there are a few things that are getting my goat about certain inaccuracies I have noticed. Normally he is spot on accurate with facts about real places he chooses to use as the settings for his books. (My brother lived in a house he talked about in one of his early books ... the description was spot on!)
One of the first I came across was the mention of the colour of the ZIM$10 dollar note Daniel used as a bribe to use the telephone at Mana Pools police station - Why mention the colour of the note if you are going to get it wrong?
The second is when the border official tells Daniel Cheti Singh crossed the Chirundu border post just after midnight - that border post has never been open all night. It closes between 6pm and 6am and always has done.
A third one is the description of the shanti township on the outskirts of Lusaka - The southern entry to Lusaka is one of the only ones that does not pass through a shanti town.
I know these have no affect on the story but it just amazes me that when he goes into such detail about real places he can get it so wrong yet in other books when he uses real places and not fiction he gets it so right?
In case anyone is confused ... I was born and brought up in Zambia.