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Book
review
Eating the
Flowers of Paradise: a Journey through the Drug Fields of Ethiopia
and Yemen Kevin
Rushby
Constable, 1998. Pp. xii + 322. Illus. Index. Notes. Hb. £18.99
This is a light-hearted travelogue of a
journey on foot and by rail, car, and boat ostensibly searching for the best qat in
Ethiopia and Yemen. I approached this book with trepidation in case it was another
disparaging expose of alien habits, but was relieved to find that, on the contrary, Rushby
discusses qat as an experienced connoisseur, and is respectful of local people and
customs. He does, however, tend to be too enthusiastic and evangelical about qat, and
one hopes that the books title, his vivid descriptions of qats pleasurable
effects and the list he provides of the best qat markets will not attract hordes of
thrill-seeking western drug users to Ethiopia or Yemen. Rushby
travels from Addis Ababa to Harar, and from there chews his way to Djibouti, across the
Red Sea to Mokha, then up into the southernYemeni highlands, including the mountains
ofYafa, before descending to the Tihamah, and then ascending to Sanaa. There
he ends his journey, philosophically chewing his last qat in the back of an old car
in Wadi Dhahr, having failed to achieve his aim of a magnificent concluding session inside
the Imams palace. Rushby provides short, apt historical summaries in each new place,
and describes his adventures along the way in an easy, humorous and self-deprecating
style. He does not portray himself as a suffering hero striving for some glorious goal,
but rather as an easy-going hedonist seeking enjoyment and (perhaps) trying to recapture
the magic of his first youthful sojourn in Yemen. The author has a particularly deft touch
with characterisation and dialogue, and the good travel writers knack of falling in
with interesting people and bringing them to life. The best encounter in the book is in
Djibouti with a larger-than-life African smuggler improbably called Cedric (or was it
Arthur?) who swept the mystified Rushby along on various minor adventures by the sheer
force of his overwhelming personality; I longed for him to pop up again inYemen!
This book is altogether an enjoyable read, and one which will
evoke many memories for those who have tramped the mountains ofYemen.
SHELAGH WEIR, November 1998
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