My name is Vikram Lall. I have the distinction of having been numbered one of Africa's most corrupt men. . .'Vikram Lall inhabits an 'in-between world': between his ancestral home in India and the Kenya he loves passionately, between his infamous African past and his uncertain future in exile. In this sweeping and sumptuous novel, M. G. Vassanji weaves a rich tapestry of vivid characters, real and imagined, in a land caught between colonialism and independence, between escape from political terror and a seemingly inevitable return to Africa, a return that may cost Vikram Lall dearly . . ."A thwarted love story . . . utterly compelling and shot through with the intensity of lived experience." Observer"Vassanji captures a wide and authentic perspective that ranks with V. S. Naipaul and Graham Greene." The Times"A writer at the top of his form." Guardian"This warm-hued, marvellously accomplished novel opens up a world that will be new and unfamiliar to many readers, and one that they will not easily forget." Scotsman"A wholly engaging and spirited novel of Africa: warm, shrewdly charming, replete with its own wry and humane wisdom." William Boyd