Being familiar with the non-fiction books that Jennifer Stern has written, I shouldn’t have been surprised to find that she’s written a cracker of debut novel, A Big Hand for the Spirits.
My first read of this enthralling novel was a pre-print PDF (thank you Jen). It arrived in my inbox early one evening and, as one does, I opened it on my phone. Rookie mistake, as I ended up reading the complete novel in this manner, so engrossed was I in the tales of intrigue that first thing the next morning I was back reading on my phone!
The publisher’s blurb tells us that A Big Hand for the Spirits, ‘delves into the intriguing intersection of science, religion, and magic, creating a narrative where the extraordinary seamlessly blends with the everyday’. It’s this and more…
The story follows a diverse group of characters, each struggling with their own unique challenges and torments. An ecologist on the run from a hitman finds herself joining up with a brilliant physicist who is torn between his scientific viewpoint and his traditional African beliefs. There’s an anaesthetist trapped in an unhappy marriage, a physically imposing yet emotionally fragile river guide (in a typical river-rafting eye-candy kind of way), and a mysterious recovering drug addict who teeters on the edge between reality and make-believe.
In between their adventures, which include wild white water rafting in Vic Falls, tracking elephants in Zambia, dabbling in witchcraft, catching snakes, and learning to dive in Malawi, they still have the time and space to explore the nature of reality, time, and fact. Perhaps it’s the thrill of the adventure and the adrenalin of knowing you’re being pursued that fuels these thoughts?
It’s as they navigate this sometimes hazardous journey, that they learn to rely on each other for survival. Through their trials and tribulations, they uncover unexpected connections and shared destinies that connect them in unforeseen ways. Jen’s narrative masterfully weaves together each of their stories, exploring themes of resilience, belief, and the power of human connection against the backdrop of the natural and supernatural world.
But it’s the climax of their journey that takes place on the edge of Lake Malawi, revolving around a dramatic performance by the Gule Wamkulu spirit dancers, who may or may not play a crucial role in tying everything together. Read the book, you decide.
In short, A Big Hand for the Spirits was a compelling read, one that had me forgoing sleep (and work) to find out who (or what) caused the Australian backpacker to scream, and scream and scream… and what caused the penguin, who may or may not have been in Antarctica, to squawk.
Author: Jennifer Stern is a multi-published non-fiction writer whose published books include Southern Africa on a Budget, Getaway Adventure Guide, Farmstall to Farmstall, Kruger National Park Expanded Visitor’s Guide, and Mooiloop the Book (an adaptation of the TV series Mooiloop).
She has contributed to several works including Getaway’s Top Ten, Fodor’s Southern Africa, In Search of the Strange, Science of Tourism, Road Tripping South Africa, Coffee Culture, and Diving the Coral Reefs of the World.
A Big Hand for the Spirits is her first foray into fiction and, while it draws heavily on her travels and her experience teaching diving in Malawi, it is most definitely a work of fiction, not a travelogue, a memoir, or a thinly disguised autobiography. (Jen has never been stalked by murderous gangsters and hopes that remains true in perpetuity.)
She lives in Cape Town with a hyperactive Donavan (a Dog of Noble and Varied Ancestry).
Publisher: Naledi (March 2024)
Price: R 275-00
