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    Three Weeks in December
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    Three Weeks in December
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    Three Weeks in December
    Ebook392 pages5 hours

    Three Weeks in December

    By Audrey Schulman

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    In 1899 Jeremy, a young engineer, leaves a small town in Maine to oversee the construction of a railroad across East Africa. In charge of hundreds of Indian laborers, he soon finds himself the reluctant hunter of two lions that are killing his men in almost nightly attacks on their camp. Plagued by fear, wracked with malaria and alienated by a secret he can tell no one, he takes increasing solace in the company of the African who helps him hunt. In 2000 Max, an American ethnobotonist, travels to Rwanda in search of an obscure vine that could become a lifesaving pharmaceutical. Stationed in the mountains, she closely shadows a family of gorillas, the last of their group to survive the encroachment of local poachers. Max bears a striking gift for understanding the ape's non-verbal communication, but their precarious solidarity is threatened as a violent rebel group from the nearby Congo draws close.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherEuropa Editions
    Release dateFeb 7, 2012
    ISBN9781609459024
    Unavailable
    Three Weeks in December
    Author

    Audrey Schulman

    Audrey Schulman is the author of five previous novels, including Three Weeks in December and Theory of Bastards, both published by Europa Editions. Her work has been translated into eleven languages. Born in Montreal, Schulman lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she runs a not-for-profit energy efficiency organisation. 

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    Reviews for Three Weeks in December

    4/5

    33 ratings7 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Nicely developing characters between two seemingly unrelated stories. What does a man in 1799 who is coming to terms with his homosexuality have in common with a nowadays researcher living with Aspergers? Nothing, or maybe the coming to terms, or Africa. And still the two stories weave nicely together, both capture the reader, and the outcome of the story of both is touching. Overlying the stories is a beautiful description of gorillas and lions, a strong plot in both stories and well developed support characters.
    • 4/5
      in the eraly 1900s, engineer from Maine goes to kenya to build a railroad. conflicts about living among Africans
    • 4/5
      This novel interweaves the perspectives of Jeremy, an engineer who leaves small-town Maine in 1899 to oversee the construction of a railroad across East Africa, and finds himself the reluctant hunter of two lions killing his men in nightly attacks; and Max, an American ethnobotanist who travels to Rwanda in 2000 in search of an obscure vine that could become a lifesaving pharmaceutical, but finds herself shadowing a family of gorillas whose survival is threatened by a violent rebel group from nearby Congo. Summary BPLAnother recommendation from LibraryThing. I had misgivings: I'm not typically a fan of novels set in Africa; I'm not typically a fan of gorillas. Three Weeks in December has changed all that! Narrated in two discrete stories over a century apart, this novel won me over with its two main characters: late 19th century Jeremy, an engineer hired to oversee the construction of a bridge and 21st century Max, a female ethnobotanist hired by a pharmaceutical company to source a potentially lifesaving drug from a vine growing in Rwanda. Jeremy and Max are--for different reasons--loners; they try to assimilate into their respective cultures, English and American, and are for the most part unsuccessful. These two characters hooked me; I had to know how they would adapt in Africa. Would they achieve their goals? Would they be happy? Schulman sheathes the plot with suspense--imagine sitting in a tree all night waiting for the human-eating lions to show up or having to flee a 400 pound silverback gorilla because you looked him in the eye--drawing on efficient yet evocative description. Like Jeremy and Max, the reader is a complete outsider forced to adapt to the land, people and animals.8 out of 10 Highly recommended to all!
    • 4/5
      THREE WEEKS IN DECEMBER is a story of strangers, primarily from an American perspective, in a strange land, south-eastern Africa. The story is told in the alternating perspectives of Jeremy in the late 19th century and Max in the late 20th century in present day Rwanda. Both Jeremy and Max are outsiders in the true sense of the word and both are launched on a course of self-discovery. Jeremy is apparently the only American working for the British in the construction of a railroad and he knows little of the customs, languages or habits of the indigenous population or the hired workers. Jeremy was also considered an outsider in his family back in Maine because of his sexual orientation (to be a single, relatively healthy man with no apparent inclination toward women was highly suspect). As a result Jeremy felt it best to leave his family and home. He intends to become a white settler in British East African after he completes his engineering tasks. However, this task is imperiled by two rogue lions that have boldly attacked men in the work camp. As the boss in the camp, Jeremy must hunt these lions and protect his workers. Over the course of several weeks, Jeremy launches his nightly vigils in an effort to kill the lions. His only companion is his African guide, Otombe. As Jeremy and Otombe sit and await the lions, Jeremy finds himself drawn to Otombe, an attraction he knows he can never act upon.Max Tombay is a postdoctoral ethnobotanist. She knows that jobs will be difficult to come by, especially with her Asperger's Syndrome. But a great opportunity is literally handed to her when she is asked by a pharmaceutical company to travel to Rwanda and locate a vine that could become a lifesaving drug. Max knows that her Asperger's and single-minded focus is as asset in this area so she accepts. Max's mother isn't very happy with her daughter traveling to a war-torn region, but she can't stop her. In short order Max travels to Rwanda with an ample supply of grey clothes, oatmeal and tofu. Just as Jeremy had difficulty assimilating to British East Africa, so does Max, but she is determined to make it work. She learns through trial and error and grudgingly gets along with the other researchers in the mountain-based research station. What Max finds amazing is that she gets along and understands the apes much better than she does her fellow researchers. Unfortunately all is not what it seems in Rwanda and Max and her fellow researchers must deal with the high possibility of an attack by rogue rebels.All of the action presented in both Max and Jeremy's stories cover the same three weeks in December, albeit separated by 100 years. It isn't clear how their stories are linked until the very end. Ms. Schulman has provided two stories that could have stood alone but together seem to mirror one another in the difficulties both Max and Jeremy are facing. The historical information provided is quite detailed enough to provide a realistic starting point for both stories. The graphic details of the African landscape are such that it is almost possible to close your eyes and visualize the scene. The description of the apes is also quite realistic and they become additional characters in Max's story. I found myself rooting for Max and Jeremy, as well as the apes, in their struggles to survive. THREE WEEKS IN DECEMBER is an emotional read that provides for a little suspense and adventure. This is a beautifully written story that drew me in from the very beginning and held my attention to the very end.
    • 4/5
      Three Weeks in December by Audrey Schulman has two timelines to follow and in this case, the reader benefits from having two exciting storylines that alternate chapter by chapter. In one, it is 1899 and a young American engineer has come to Africa to help build bridges for the railroad. At the Tsavo River, he finds himself having to hunt two man-eating lions that are stalking the Indian workers and the natives in the area. The other storyline is set in 2000, and involves a female botanist who has Aspergers Syndrome. She has come to Rwanda to hunt for a medicinal vine in the mountain gorilla habitat. Meanwhile, a vicious warlord and his army of gun-toting children are moving ever closer.I enjoyed both storylines and thought they were exciting and realistic. The author built the suspense to the point where I couldn‘t put the book down. The facts about both the lions and the gorillas was interesting and well researched. I also enjoyed reading of an adult with Aspergers as up to this point most of my reading on that subject has been about children with the syndrome. What kept this book from a solid 4.0 rating was the editing as several spelling and grammar mistakes were obvious. I hate it when errors like this can pull one right out of the story.Three Weeks in December was a great escape read and I will certainly keep this author in mind when I need another good adventure read.
    • 4/5
      The writing in this book was captivating. She interwove two stories that take place in Africa 100 years apart but linked by family (clearly Max’s father is the son of the child Jeremy fathers with an African). Both characters were compelling and their stories pulled me along. I have to say that I hated the fact that she had Max killed in the end. 4/21/12
    • 4/5
      “Whatever they yell, they keep running. The only thing that stops them is the soldiers shooting bullets into their hearts.”Told in parallel storylines both set in remote Africa, Three Weeks in December chronicles the stories of Jeremy, a young railway engineer sent to oversee the construction of an East African railroad, which has been plagued by malaria and lion attacks, and Max, an American ethnobotanist who is seeking the vine that could make a lifesaving pharmaceutical.Max, the ethnobotanist with Asperger’s who treks across the world to find a life-saving drug, is by far the more interesting lead character; her literal understanding of the world, her fear of human contact, and her unexpected companionship with the gorillas is captivating and touching. Jeremy is too human – well-intentioned but weak, and plagued by a secret which is somewhat overblown. The key point is that he is powerless to defend his workers, and that his character deteriorates as he suffers the frustration of impotence.The link between the stories is tenuous and irrelevant and revealed late in the piece, but that doesn’t really matter. Mirroring my reception of the characters, I found Jeremy’s storyline unsubtle, a bit dull and doomed to fail (although this is not intended to be entirely negative – a tragic plot is not invalid), while I wanted more and more of Max’s tale. The writing is deft and elegant without being elaborate; Schulman displays real skill in crafting Max so well.