The Lie of the Land

<p><em>The Lie of the Land</em> is a novel set against the background of the German colonial wars in Namibia in the early 1900s. The central character is an academic in linguistics who occasionally acts as a British agent. He is a cynical private individual who sees himself as a neutral observer but is eventually forced to take sides when he witnesses the atrocities of the Herero and Nama genocide and above all meets a young Nama woman who enchants him. The novel explores the shifting nature of the oppressor and the oppressed. </p><p>Despite the unfolding tragic events the story is lightened by surprising bursts of humour and is ultimately a love story.</p>