Out of Shadows

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Out of Shadows

Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace has a dedication in the front of the book to his mother and stepfather "who took us on an adventure." My parents also took me on adventure to Zambia when I was 13 years - old. The country right next to Zimbabwe where this book is set soon after Robert Mugabe came to power.
I was in Zambia in 1980 and remember the hope Mugabe brought to Zimbabwe. So reading this book transported me back to that time with his descriptions of not just bougainvillea, African children waving, Jacaranda trees and takkies (plimsolls/trainers). But also to how some white people out there treat
the black people, which made uncomfortable reading.
The book is for teenagers (13 up) and not suitable for younger readers.
It is after all dealing with boys growing up into men or as Robert Jacklin the narrator puts it "dangerously close to the edge of manhood." Violence, cruelty and bullying are strongly portrayed.
Robert Jacklin is 13 and has come out from England with his parents to Zimbabwe. His father is now working there, having wanted to provide a better life for his family and sends Robert to a boarding school out
there.
He at first becomes friends with Nelson, who is kind and holds no grudges. Ivan though soon reels Robert into his net and his friendship with Nelson instantly stops. Ivan is a sadistic racist which he undoubtedly gets from his father. Ivan wants his country back the way
it was with the white people in charge and the black people taking
orders from them. To him they are "Kaffirs" (just one of several derogatory names sadly still being used in Africa by some white people when referring to black people). The line where they "dismissed black staff without speaking" I found particularly upsetting as I knew the type of people being described. The problem for Robert is, now that he is in Ivan's gang he has to follow his rules. Having made the mistake of becoming Ivan's friend you wonder if he will ever come to his senses
and realise what he has got involved with.
Robert is rather vulnerable and Ivan knows this. He is new at school
and in the country. He like his mother didn't want to move from
England and he also begins to see changes at home that make him feel excluded and unwanted. So he becomes easy prey for Ivan who soon discovers he can use him in his plans.
But Ivan is right about one thing that Mugabe doesn't care about
anyone he is just after power and money and will burn the country to
get both. Ivan though can really only believe this because he is a racist. We can believe it as we are now able to see what Mugabe has done. Any good that he might have achieved he has destroyed. The book keeps your interest and makes you want to read on. It enters into
a slightly James Bond world towards the end, the only difficulty I had with this was one bit. Where I felt a certain character wouldn't have made what looked like a careless mistake on their part. But I am just being picky in what is an excellent book.
For it asks questions about yourself, about others and the
problems you can face in life that are good and evil. It left me
wondering if Mugabe who was brought up a Roman Catholic and was also once a teacher, had been at school with boys like Ivan. For something surely must have happened in his life to turn him into an
evil dictator.
When I finished this book I felt I had been on emotional journey. I hope it will have a similar effect on you if you read it.
Out of shadows by Jason Wallace is published by Andersen Press and won the Costa Children's Book Award 2010. It is available from
bookshops, Amazon and other online booksellers.

© Children's Web Magazine 2011