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Books

Witnesses in the heart of darkness

A review of David Van Reybrouck’s Congo: The Epic History of a People. This panoramic history of a wronged nation is energised by first-hand testimonies and the author’s eye for arresting human detail.

29 March 2014

9:00 AM

29 March 2014

9:00 AM

Congo: The Epic History of a People David Van Reybrouck

Fourth Estate, pp.639, £25, ISBN: 9780007562909

When presented with a 639-page doorstopper which includes 82 pages of closely-written sources, notes and index, most of us feel a bit like a patient about to swallow a strong dose of antibiotics: ‘This isn’t going to be pleasant, but it’ll be good for me.’ First published in Dutch in 2010, translated into French and German, and only now coming out in English, Congo arrives trailing prizes and praise.

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Available from the Spectator Bookshop, £20. Tel: 08430 600033. Michela Wrong is the author of In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in the Congo.

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