On Wednesday March 2nd 7pm at Warwick Library Ian Mathie gave a very interesting and entertaining talk about his new memoir ‘Bride Price’

Ian Mathie is the author of the African Memoir series of books, published by Mosaique Press. Recorded in notebooks kept during his years working as a rural development officer, his stories offer a unique view of Africa from the inside. Illustrating the intimate lives of the communities he lived and worked amongst and revealing facets of their cultures seldom seen by outsiders and the uninitiated, his writing will transport you deep into the hinterland and keep you reading right to the end.

‘Bride Price’ is about Abélé, an orphan girl Ian was asked to foster as the price of him being allowed to live in a forest village near his work. All went well until an unpleasant man from another village demanded her hand in marriage and asked him to name her bride price. That’s when the problems started. Nobody could advise him, their culture prevented them, and he was obliged to conform to the complex local customs and taboos, yet he was determined that Kuloni Nkese would not have the girl. He had to be very creative in setting a price the man could, but would not, pay.

Full of dramatic events, mysterious characters and intimate insights into the life and beliefs of a forest community, this is the true story of how the situation unfolded.