The Old Drift

Three Families. Four Generations. Fates Collide As A Nation is Born and Drifts Toward Ruin. Or is it Revolution?

On the banks of the Zambezi River, a few miles from the majestic Vistoria Falls, there was once a colonial settlement called Old Drift. Here begins the epic store of a small African nation told by a mysterious swarm that calls itself man's greatest nemesis. The Tale? A playful panorama of history, fairy tale, romance, and science fiction. The moral? To err is human. 

  In 1904, in a smoky room at the hotel across the river, an Old Drifter named Percy M. Clark, foggy with fever, makes a mistake that entangles the fates of an Italian hotelier and an African busboy. This sets off a cycle of unwitting retribution among three Zambian families (black, white, brown) as they collide and converge over the course of the century, into the present and beyond. As the generations pass, their lives--their triumphs, errors, losses, and hopes--form a symphony about what it means to be human. 

  From a woman covered with hair and another plagued with endless tears to forbidden love affairs and fiery political ones, to homegrown technological marvels like Afronauts, microdrones, and viral vaccines, this gripping, unforgettable novel sweeps over the years and the globe, subverting expectations along the way. Exploding with color and energy, The Old Drift is a testament to our yearning to create and cross borders, and a meditation on the slow, grand passage of time.