To Asmara (42 page)

The BBC shortwave news indicated correctly that he had vanished during a separate incident from the one at Asmara airport, though the misconception that he was engaged in blowing up planes persists. There were some vaguely hostile comments in the British press about the value of journalists attaching themselves to palpably illicit guerrilla activities. There were one or two panels convened on British television about journalistic ethics. Darcy, in fact, came out not too badly from this.

For the truth is that the famine has worsened, and the world knows it cannot be entirely because Darcy witnessed the blowing up of a few trucks. The Dergue suffers one military disaster after another. The numbers of Ethiopian prisoners in Eritrea have increased threefold. The Dergue is punished by its own economic fatuity, though not as fiercely as are its people.

The July rains in Eritrea are erratic and the people starve in Endilal where Lady Julia saw the seeds of her revolution.

On the Nacfa Front, the grammar classes continue. And all the incidents fail to be separate.

About the Author

Thomas Keneally (b. 1935) is an Australian author of fiction, nonfiction, and plays, best known for his novel
Schindler's List
. Inspired by the true story of Oskar Schindler's courageous rescue of more than one thousand Jews during the Holocaust, the book was adapted into a film directed by Steven Spielberg, which won the 1993 Academy Award for Best Picture. Keneally was included on the Man Booker Prize shortlist three times—for his novels
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
,
Gossip from the Forest
, and
Confederates
—before winning the award for
Schindler's List
in 1982. Keneally is active in Australian politics and is a founding member of the Australian Republican Movement, a group advocating for the nation to change its governance from a constitutional monarchy to a republic. In 1983 he was named an Officer of the Order of Australia for his achievements.

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 1989 by Serpentine Publishing Company Proprietary, Ltd.

Cover design by Drew Padrutt

ISBN: 978-1-5040-2673-4

This edition published in 2015 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

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