Synopsis from Amazon
Hope Clearwater lives on an African beach. She examines the complex circumstances that brought her there, reassessing the violent, complicated and tragic events which have occurred in her life. She ponders past lives, recent events and looks to the distant future.

RELEASE NOTES:

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The second book I picked up today at Coffee#1 on Wood Street. From the blurb on the back, I'm guessing it could turn out to be one of two types of story: interesting and original; or one where very little happens and the main character is up her own arse. I'll find out when I've read it, but I have to say I'm a little wary of books by Scottish writers. They're the one Celtic nation that seems to have no flair for story-telling. (Should any Scots take offence - this is a considered opinion, not a prejudice! ;-) There is much to be proud of in Scottish culture, as I'm bound to know since half of my relatives come from that country.)

Not bad. The blurb on the back says "Hope Clearwater lives on an African beach reassessing the complicated, violent and tragic events which have occurred in her life." It also says the author is a "brilliant" storyteller. Not by this book he isn't, but he's fairly good. The book switches between two different story lines, one about the protagonists recent past and what brought her to be studying chimpanzees in Africa, the other about the conflicts between the researchers at the nature reserve where the chimpanzees are. The double story line almost works, but the trouble is, the African one is much more interesting than the one set in England. You keep wanting to skip the English story to get back to the African one. This is a mistake, however, as you are likely to miss important events in the main character's past.( I had to backtrack and read the bits I'd skipped.)
The other problem is, the characters are not exactly three-dimensional. The main protagonist, Hope Clearwater, is just as blandly middle class at the end of the story as she was at the beginning, in spite of having been through some tragic and hair-raising experiences. She doesn't seem to have been touched by them and so, although you ought to be able to sympathise with her, you don't. In addition to that, she does a few oddly stupid things - like returning alone to a workplace where her employer has tried to beat her to death, and then continuing to work for his foundation subsequently? Come on! You just wouldn't.

Now on its way to the winner of the RABCK

I have just received this book in the post. Thanks Spartaca for this rabck!