Hope Clearwater, the protagonist of William Boyd’s novel, Brazzaville Beach is a young English ethologist who’s come to the Grosso Arvore Research Center in central Africa to make a study of chimpanzees and to forget her broken marriage to a brilliant mathematician back home. In this engrossing book, Boyd very deftly braids three story strands: Hope’s present day life on Brazzaville Beach; Hope’s former life in England with her husband John; and Hope’s recent experiences at Grosso Arvore, and her experiences with the chimps. Boyd tells Hope’s English story in the third person, while he tells her African story in the first person. Boyd has written about Africa before, though his previous novels set on “the Dark Continent,” were darkly comedic. A Good Man In Africa was set in West Africa, while An Ice Cream War was set in East Africa. Brazzaville Beach, a book written in a more serious tone and seems to be set in the Congo or in Angola, probably Angola, however, closer to the center of Africa, and, while there is a real “Brazzaville” in the Congo, this book doesn’t seem to be set there despite its title.The “head honcho” of Grosso Arvore is Eugene Mallabar, its founder and director. Mallabar, who’s studied chimps in the wild for decades, reportedly knows more about them and their habits than anyone else in the world. He’s the author of two highly acclaimed books on chimpanzee behavior, “The Peaceful Primate” and “Primate’s Progress,” both catalysts for millions of dollars in grants for further study at Grosso Arvore. As the book opens, Mallabar is just putting the finishing touches on another book that should prove to be the definitive word on the primates he finds incapable of aggressive behavior, and Grosso Arvore, which was very quickly running out of money, has just been given another grant that will allow it to function for another two years – at least. There’s only one problem, and that one problem is Hope Clearwater.Heeding the good advice to “start a novel on a day that’s different,” Boyd, who knows how to tell an excellent story, begins the Congolese/Angolan thread of his story on the day Hope discovers that one group of chimps – they’ve split into two groups and are in the midst of territorial wars – has turned to cannibalism, infanticide, organized aggression, and overt brutality, acts usually reserved for human beings, and something Mallabar’s work has shown chimps simply do not do. Hope, though, knows what she saw, so Mallabar sets out to “persuade” her that she’s mistaken, and that he’s the one who’s right. After all, he has to be right if he wants his newest book to succeed and the funding to keep flowing in. The problem is, Hope Clearwater is not going to be easily persuaded. She isn’t persuaded when her tent goes up in flames, destroying her field notes. She isn’t persuaded when a large dislodged rock narrowly misses hitting her, while she’s following a bad tempered band of chimps. She isn’t persuaded when the other scientists begin to freeze her out. In fact, she goes so far as to lure Mallabar, himself, into the field so he can witness several chimps stomping a rival to death. And still, he doesn’t believe, or at least he says he doesn’t, and Hope, who narrowly escapes, finally realizes that she needs to stop trying to “convince” Mallabar that she saw what she did. Complicating matters is the fact that guerrilla warfare is going on in the country at the time, making movement dangerous. The guerrilla leader of one of the factions, the volleyball playing “Atomique Boum,” Dr. Amilcar, might possibly be the most likable character is this book. He’s certainly well drawn and one of the most interesting. At any rate, Hope’s story eventually intersects with that of the guerrillas, giving the novel added tension and momentum.Another thread of Brazzaville Beach is set in England, in the past, during the early days of Hope’s marriage to John Clearwater, a brilliant mathematician. Though Hope was relaxed and almost lethargic after finishing her PhD work and marrying John Clearwater, John, himself was searching for fame and always looking for the next mathematical problem to solve. He wanted a mathematical theorem named after him, like Fermat, and what he failed to realize is that even geniuses are often forgotten by society at large; the important thing is to be happy with yourself, and to be important to those who love you. While Hope, who doesn’t seem to have as much trouble finding contentment, is working on cataloging and dating hedgerows and coppices at a large estate in Dorset in southwest England in order to remain close to home, John is suffering the first symptoms of a mental and emotional breakdown, fearful that someone else will make the discoveries he longs to make. The reader knows John is headed for a crash, and we wonder what will become of the Clearwater marriage once that crash happens. Will it be over forever, or is Hope’s sojourn in Africa just a reprieve from the trials at home? And what happened at Grosso Arvore to send Hope to Brazzaville Beach?Braided narratives – or in this case, a double helix narrative – are always a bit difficult to pull off, and they all carry the inherent risk that one braid will overwhelm the others. Although all the braids in this book are extremely well done, I think the one set in Africa and revolving around the chimpanzees is by far the more interesting. Frankly, when I bought this book I was under the impression I was buying a book that took place solely in Africa, and I was surprised to find the story thread in England was included. It was a fine story thread, and John Clearwater was an extremely interesting character, but frankly, I think he deserves his own book. I could have done without that braid, and John’s story is interesting enough to warrant being set apart from Hope’s. I think the book might have been stronger had Boyd concentrated entirely on Hope’s time in Africa, with only minimal backstory regarding her life in England and her marriage. But, that might be “just me.” I do think the African story wasn’t affected much by the addition of the one in England and vice versa, and it’s my opinion, at least, that braided narratives should impact each other more than these two did. Some people aren’t going to like the crosscutting or the jump from first person (Africa) to third person (England), but Boyd is extremely skillful. And, the story threads are “joined,” so to speak with some arcane aspect of biology, anthropology, or math presented right before each chapter and printed in italics, things like algorithms, lemmas, turbulence theory, Fermat’s Last Theorem, divergence syndromes, etc. I found these interesting, but unnecessary, and sometimes a bit too clever, and I really hate to read italics. I know plenty of readers who would have skipped the italicized parts, though, just as they skipped the poetry in A.S. Byatt’s Possession, though I certainly wasn’t one, and they shouldn’t be skipped because this is primarily where Boyd develops his thread regarding Hope’s current life on Brazzaville Beach.I thought Hope, and all the main characters, really, were fully realized, three-dimensional characters. I read a review in which one reviewer said he or she thought Hope was more like a man than a woman. I didn’t find that to be true at all. She wasn’t ultra-feminine, to be sure, but that wouldn’t have fit her character. She was living in Africa, in rather primitive conditions. Had she been fussy and finicky, her character wouldn’t “ring true.” I liked Hope immensely. I thought she was plucky and quite realistic, characteristics I like, and I enjoyed spending time with her. I actually missed her once I’d finished the book, something that rarely happens with fictional characters and me.Like them or not, and I do, very much, the chimps are the real stars of this book. When I was reading the chapters about Hope and John in England, no matter how interesting I thought they were, I was anxious to return to the African story and learn how the chimps were faring. Even before I read this book, I knew that at least some of Boyd’s research was drawn from the studies in Tanzania of famed primatologist Jane Goodall, who discovered that chimpanzees are not always peaceful vegetarians, but can be aggressive and manipulative, and will resort to cannibalism if they feel it’s in the best interests of the troop. (Chimps live in groups called “troops.”) The chimpanzee wars are the most compelling part of Brazzaville Beach, though they are terribly, terribly sad.Chimps, who share ninety-eight percent of their DNA with humans – the Angolans even call them “mockmen” – often function as a symbol of the inhumanity man is capable of, of the fact that at its center, man’s heart truly is dark. If man goes to war, killing innocent women and children, how can we expect better behavior from chimps? Yet, somehow, we do.Besides being an excellent storyteller, William Boyd is an excellent writer, though he’s no prose stylist in the manner of say, Sebastian Barry or Edna O’Brien. But Boyd’s writing reflects an extraordinarily intelligent man who’s learned his craft extremely well. In fact, every time I read a book written by William Boyd, I’m struck by how well and how intelligently it’s written. This book is no exception, though I did catch a few minor missteps I would have thought Boyd’s editor should have discovered. Early in the book, John Clearwater announces to Hope that he’s given up alcohol, though just a few pages later, he’s drinking again, and even Hope doesn’t seem to notice. Hope, herself, seems to be drinking more and more, though this fact is simply never elaborated on – by anyone. There are biblical references, references to Greek mythology, and even references to Shakespeare that are never mentioned again. A few times, Boyd repeats information he’s already given us a page or two before. It did make me wonder if Boyd was hurrying with this novel, or if his publisher was putting pressure on him to “deliver faster.” Boyd is not usually a sloppy writer. On the contrary, I’ve found him to be very meticulous.I thought Brazzaville Beach was a thoroughly engrossing book. I loved reading it as much as any book I can remember in the last two years or so. I hated to put it aside even to sleep. It’s not perfect, though, and my small quibbles are the only reason I didn’t rate it 5/5.4.5/5Recommended: Yes.
Like his 2012 book, WAITING FOR SUNRISE, Boyd employed a complex structure in this 1990 novel about science and discord, both marital and professional. Structure and the sciences are the glue for connecting the themes and metaphors of his overall story, a device for annexing separate compartments of the narrative and cohering it into a whole. Once you let that be, or let it go, and stop worrying if you are comprehending all the pieces while reading it, you can enjoy this compelling piece of fiction.It takes place primarily in the continent of Boyd's birth, Africa (he was raised in Ghana), somewhere in the Congo. Civil wars are raging, with the federal government fighting factions, and guerilla warfare ongoing. You don't need to even know exactly where it takes place, or when. He doesn't tell us.Hope Clearwater is the feisty heroine, a young PhD in plant and animal ethology who was married to an obsessive mathematician, until she wasn't. Right now, as the story opens, she is living on Brazzaville Beach in Africa, narrating the events that led to where she is now, and taking stock of her life. Over the course of the book, Hope shares the events and casualties that led to her living alone on this beach.Her most recent post was in the Congo, with the established and respected scholar, Eugene Mallobar, a PhD and author of several books on primates, who has studied them for 30 years. Although Hope had no experience in working with chimpanzees, she works diligently, with regard and respect. She makes a daily rendezvous to study them in the wild. Her assignment is to observe and track the movements of a southern faction of apes that broke off from the northerners.Hope makes a harrowing discovery about the two groups of chimps--the northerners and the southerner group that split off. When she shares it with Mallobar, he becomes threatened (he also has a new research book coming out). He tries to deny the accuracy of Hope's observation skills. The civil wars of the Congo both overshadow and parallel the events at the Grosso Arvore Research Center, the chimps, and the behavior of some of the scientists.Each new titled section or chapter of the novel begins in italics, often presenting the various divergence and chaos theories of her ex-husband's research, and giving room for the reader to tie in concepts of uncertainty in Hope's existence. There are parallels to dominion and sex, aggression, and the need to find clear and determined answers.During her marital separation, Hope worked on an ancient English estate, dating and describing hedgerows, with detailed specific answers available for her to ponder. However, when her estranged husband comes to visit, her life feels in flux again. He barrages her with his anxiety and failed research attempts.There are a lot of trajectories to this book, including Hope's relationship with a Mig 15 mercenary pilot, an Egyptian named Usman Shoukry, who meticulously constructs (for his amusement) tiny, detailed airplanes made out of tissue and attached to horseflies. Hope sees Usman when she makes provision runs for the reserve.Like his 2012 book, Waiting for Sunrise, Boyd employed a complex structure in this 1990 novel about science and discord, both marital and professional. Structure and the sciences are the glue for connecting the themes and metaphors of his overall story, a device for annexing separate compartments of the narrative and cohering it into a whole. Once you let that be, or let it go, and stop worrying if you are comprehending all the pieces while reading it, you can enjoy this compelling piece of fiction.It takes place primarily in the continent of Boyd's birth, Africa (he was raised in Ghana), somewhere in the Congo. Civil wars are raging, with the federal government fighting factions, and guerilla warfare ongoing. You don't need to even know exactly where it takes place, or when. He doesn't tell us.Hope Clearwater is the feisty heroine, a young PhD in plant and animal ethology who was married to an obsessive mathematician, until she wasn't. Right now, as the story opens, she is living on Brazzaville Beach in Africa, narrating the events that led to where she is now, and taking stock of her life. Over the course of the book, Hope shares the events and casualties that led to her living alone on this beach.Her most recent post was in the Congo, with the established and respected scholar, Eugene Mallobar, a PhD and author of several books on primates, who has studied them for 30 years. Although Hope had no experience in working with chimpanzees, she works diligently, with regard and respect. She makes a daily rendezvous to study them in the wild. Her assignment is to observe and track the movements of a southern faction of apes that broke off from the northerners.Hope makes a harrowing discovery about the two groups of chimps--the northerners and the southerner group that split off. When she shares it with Mallobar, he becomes threatened (he also has a new research book coming out). He tries to deny the accuracy of Hope's observation skills. The civil wars of the Congo both overshadow and parallel the events at the Grosso Arvore Research Center, the chimps, and the behavior of some of the scientists.Each new titled section or chapter of the novel begins in italics, often presenting the various divergence and chaos theories of her ex-husband's research, and giving room for the reader to tie in concepts of uncertainty in Hope's existence. There are parallels to dominion and sex, aggression, and the need to find clear and determined answers.During her marital separation, Hope worked on an ancient English estate, dating and describing hedgerows, with detailed specific answers available for her to ponder. However, when her estranged husband comes to visit, her life feels in flux again. He barrages her with his anxiety and failed research attempts.There are a lot of trajectories to this book, including Hope's relationship with a Mig 15 mercenary pilot, an Egyptian named Usman Shoukry, who meticulously constructs (for his amusement) tiny, detailed airplanes made out of tissue and attached to horseflies. Hope sees Usman when she makes provision runs for the reserve.Admittedly, I haven't unraveled every thread of this book sufficiently to articulate a review with any authority. It is a book to cogitate on, closely, and possibly from an aerial distance. The chimps' DNA is only a fraction off from humans; they act human sometimes. People act like apes periodically. At the center is Hope, twining the different narrative threads, keeping the reader suspended in the turbulent whirlpool of humanity.
What do You think about Brazzaville Beach (1995)?
I delighted in this book because it tells a compelling human story with a rich framework of ideas that appeal to me. The tale is of a woman, Hope Clearwater, reflecting back on her work and marriage in England to a mathematician and her work and life studying chimp behavior in the Republic of Congo, both of which ended in disaster. She is unable to move forward without making some sense out of the wisdom vs. stupidities in her role in the disasters. As quoted from Socrates in the epilogue and close of the book, “An unexamined life is not worth living.”Boyd alternates the narrative of Hope’s life in Africa, told in first person, with that of her life in England, rendered in third person. The contrast between these two parts of her life, as well as Western and African cultures, represents a central challenge for Hope (and thus Boyd) to integrate. Each section is introduced with a segment from mathematical or biological sciences, which reflect on work concerns of her mathematician husband or herself. I love how Boyd has Hope trying to use analogies from academic advances to provide structure for her efforts to understand her life’s journey. For example, her husband John makes a lot of progress in areas of turbulence and catastrophe theory, which fuels her efforts to account for sudden discontinuities in her own life; as John’s own psychological instability leads him to focus instead on invariance of forms in the field of topology, she looks to how other people differ from her ultimately in only in minor ways. She also learns a lot about the relativism of frames of reference, which she relates her own mood influencing her levels of optimism or pessimism. To me Boyd isn’t making a heavy philosophical stretch here, but he is illustrating very well how people link abstract ideas to their personal lives and outlook.In the case of Hope’s work at the research station, the parallels between primate and human behavior represent a more substantive analogy. For decades, Jane Goodall’s work on chimps in their natural environment captivated the world with a vision of largely peaceful, almost Edenic, society, which we, as their closest evolutionary relatives, might somehow aspire to regain. The shock of discovery that chimps in some circumstances engage in infanticide, cannibalism, and lethal territorial warfare put an end to such simplistic thinking. As this work was widely publicized, it is not much of a spoiler to reveal that the plot of this book deals with Hope making discoveries of such violence and encountering conflicts and resistance in acceptance of her findings. I thought Boyd’s portrayal of conflicts between scientific objectivity and human biases and emotions to be quite plausible, although I am sure the scientists involved in this work would be offended over the dramatic fiction.The book includes a segment where the unstable politics of the Congo intrude dangerously on the lives of the scientists in the form of actions by a revolutionary faction. Compared to the murder of gorilla researcher Dian Fossey in Rwanda, the events included in this narrative are restrained, but frighteningly realistic. The charming rebel leader featured, Dr. Amilcar, deflates Hope’s sense of the importance of her scientific work by exclaiming “You value a monkey more than a human” and by concluding “You think that if you know everything you can escape from the world. But you can’t.” Hope is a fully realized character that I admired both as a strong woman hero and as a very human scientist. As made clear at the start, she survives the cataclysmic climaxes of both threads of her life revealed at the end. As she walks the beach at the end, as in interludes elsewhere in the book, the theme of permanence despite perpetual change is realized. Like life itself, a simple story of powerful events linked to a few choices resonates with many universal themes.
—Michael
Why did I need to know that? What is the message the author is trying to convey? I never could answer those questions, and neither could my book club. Hope is almost compassionless and I couldn't relate to her, or anyone else in the book. The jumping between time frames was disorienting. I truly don't understand all the rave reviews. I don't need to enjoy the content of a book to like it but there has to be something - a compelling story or interesting characters. I couldn't find anything to like in the descriptions of chimpanzee sex and violence or the unravelling of an unconvincing relationship. What was the point of the feeding station? Why was Hope so comfortable in the deep jungles of the Congo whilst a violent war raged around her? The story seems to be building to some grand conclusion, statement or surprise but ... Nothing. An awful book that I hope to forget.
—Bella
If I'd have bought and read the synopsis of this book about a woman in war torn Africa researching chimpanzees I probably wouldn't have bothered to read any further. It was on our book club list and as I couldn't get it from the local library, downloaded it. I'm surprised to say I enjoyed it. The story alternates between Hope Clearwater's life in the UK with her mathematician husband who has a nervous beak down and commits himself to a psychiatric hospital and her work researching chimpanzees in war torn Africa. She discovers one group of chimps is attacking and killing the group she is researching. Her boss doesn't believe her and following a violent argument Hope flees the camp hitching a ride with a colleague who's heading to the nearest town to replenish supplies. On their journey they are stopped by rebels who kidnap them. Hope tells the story after the events have taken place. I'm not saying any more as I don't want to spoil the plot, other than to say it's a good read.
—Mandy Radley
