Tambula by Susan Wüthrich

This is the second book I reviewed by Susan Wüthrich. I like the fact that this writer sets her stories of love and loss in unusual settings and periods. Be it post war Britain or 1970's Africa as in this case. Her heroes are ordinary men and women just trying to make ends meet. I gave this 5 stars.

This book is set in the early seventies which had me scratching my head as I recognised some of the places but not others. Tambula is a fictional country but a reviewer kindly pointed out it would be located in what is these days known as Eswatini and before 2018 as Swaziland. Also the Capital of Mozambique is these days known as Maputo. Maybe the writer could add some info about the locations used before the first part to set the scene. It doesn’t detract however from the touching story of a young couple in 1970’s Africa. What I liked was the fact that Liz and Dek are a very ordinary couple with a young son that are just struggling to make ends meet. This sets them apart from the other expats around them that are rich and their lives revolve around the club. The story of this couple and their unravelling marriage could have been set anywhere, but setting it in Africa adds another dimension and adds a few interesting subplots that test this couple to breaking point.

Well written and kept me interested to the last page.