This was a bookclub read for me. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it! What we discussed: http://escapebookclub.blogspot.com/2011/10/wednesday-5th-october-my-driver-by.ht... ( )

Vanessa Henman is an English writer invited to an international writers conference in Kampala, Uganda. While there she intends to make a surprise visit to see Mary Tendo, the woman who used to be her cleaner. Meanwhile Mary has invited Vanessa's ex-husband, Trevor, to Uganda to help fix in her village. Trevor and Vanessa don't tell each other about their trips, and for much of the story they are either turning up in the same place within a few minutes of each other or they see but don't recognise each other. Their story is interspersed with Mary's, that of her lost son who has become a child soldier and V & T's son and grandson in London. The threat of war between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo is always in the background - Gee reminds us that the scramble for Africa's rich resources continues unabated.

This was an enjoyable book, but it didn't blow me away. The 'will they meet/won't they meet' aspect of V & T's story felt contrived after a while and the huge coincidence at the end tied things up too nicely to be believeable.

I did enjoy Vanessa's character although she is a hard woman to like. Her delusions of grandeur about her status as a writer, her anxiety to be liked and respected and her fears about travelling alone in Africa may make her seem arrogant and unpleasant, but they are very human frailties and the more I think about her the more I feel for her. ( )