T. C. Boyle’s first novel has two parallel narratives that eventually merge. The first narrative involves the adventures and misadventures of the Scottish explorer Mungo Park, who is remembered as the European discoverer of the Niger River in West Africa, a quest that he chronicled in
Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa. The second narrative focuses on Ned Rise, who is born into poverty in a London slum, somehow survives his very grim upbringing, and tries to transcend his circumstances by becoming an ever more inventive con man. His failure to do so without consequences leads to his joining Mungo Park’s second expedition to Africa, on which he ends up being the lone survivor.
On the surface, Boyle’s inaugural effort might seem to be a historical novel, but Boyle himself took
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Citation: Kich, Martin. "Water Music". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 August 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=41663, accessed 16 October 2024.]
