Blood River

JOHN LE CARRE

Quite superb…..a masterpiece

WILLIAM BOYD

Tim Butcher's extraordinary, audacious journey through the Congo is worthy of the great 19th century explorers. Completely enthralling but also a thoughtful and sobering portrait of modern Africa

ALEXANDER MCCALL SMITH

A remarkable, fascinating book by a courageous and perceptive writer. One of the most exciting books to emerge from Africa in recent years.

THE SUNDAY TIMES

Tim Butcher's book is the latest in a long line, running through Joseph Conrad, Graham Greene, VS Nai-paul… his account of a hair-rising trip from east to west, against all advice, by motorbike and then river boat, is gripping and harshly informative…

MAX HASTINGS

Blood River represents a remarkable marriage of travelogue and history, which deserves to make Tim Butcher a star for his prose, as well as his courage.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

From his adventure he has plundered a wealth of terrific stories, and survived to recite a rosary of unstinting horror.

FERGAL KEANE

This is a terrific book, an adventure story about a journey of great bravery in one of the world's most dangerous places. It keeps the heart beating and the attention fixed from beginning to end.

HATCHARDS

…unputdownable…

GILES FODEN

An intrepid adventure... Tim Butcher has followed in the footsteps of Stanley and Conrad. It takes a lot of guts to yomp through the Congo and he obviously has plenty of those. But it is the wit and passion of the writing which keeps you engrossed.

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

..stirring and thought-provoking.

AESTHETICA MAGAZINE

….a remarkable travelogue of exquisite proportions…. highly emotive, historical and personal…Butcher's elegant style demands the reader's attention…….Blood River is nothing short of a modern-day masterpiece.

WANDERLUST

What makes Blood River such a compelling read is the fact that the journey becomes an exercise in mental terror, the author skilfully conveying the exhaustion of six weeks on tenterhooks, wondering what might happen just around the next bend.

THOMAS PAKENHAM

Tim Butcher deserves a medal for this crazy feat. I marvel at his courage and his empathy with the unfortunate Congolese...

ESQUIRE

…gripping…

TRAVEL AFRICA

The past meets present in this enthralling travelogue through the depths of the Congo.

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Important book, execution unsatisfying - Rated
I came across this book by coincidence before a long train journey and having travelled to the DRC (Kinshasa, Matadi, Boma) myself in 2006 I was obviously very curious about this book.
Firstly, I believe that any book which brings the tragedy and the current war-like situation in the East to the forefront of people's mind a very important book. Too long has the rest of the world ignored what is going on in the DRC.
However Tim Butcher tries to achieve too much with this book, part adventurer story, part history lesson, part documentary it does nothing really well. Some of it has to do with Butcher's writing style. Not every good journalist can also write a book and really carry a story.
What is really disturbing when reading this book is when he is lamenting his own plight, the bad food, the mosquitoes, the heat, the sheer boredom of parts of his trip. What was he expecting? It seems he has read numerous accounts about Stanley's trip however has not really prepared for today's realities of the Congo. The constant complaints made it difficult to read certain passages in the book.
Overall, the book even leaves a bit of a bitter taste in the mouth, in places it sounds at times elitist and has passages with what one could consider racist undertones.
The writing itself does not convey much empathy with the Congolese people. A majority of the people Butcher writes about in more detail are white missionaries, UN workers and even an adventurer who is clearly profiteering from the current state of affairs in the Congo. I don't hear the voice of the Congolese people out of this book.
Lastly, the first part of the trip takes up the majority of pages in the book and the last parts of the trip are just glanced over as if he could not wait to finish this book and get out of the Congo as quickly as possible.
This book could have been a very interesting and importnat book, but in the end the subject has not been handled careful enough.

Brilliant and revealing read... - Rated
The author managed to keep my attention and allow me to enter the dark world that is the Congo. He has a gifted ability in writing and a bravery to match to dare to enter such a dangerous place in the world. The end was a bit disappointing as his river trip seemed to end in the back set of a car otherwise I would have given him a 5 star! The book is a good example of what Africa is capable of achieving - absolutely nothing. I expect to see him write another book on the destruction of Zimbabwe in the next ten years time where it'll be in even worse state than the Congo is right now!

a very interesting book - Rated
I really rate the story and the tale of the journey, the only part of the book witch I was not endeared by was his analysis of the route cause of the problems of the DRC. He appeared a little fixated on certain points to the exclusion of other potential causes. However having said this, the book does not profess to be a socio-economic analysis of the problems of the DRC, but a very well written tale of a man trying to travel a route used by past explores.

The preface had me gripped... - Rated
British journalist and former Africa Correspondant for the Telegraph, Tim Butcher, recreates his predessesor H.M.Stanley's (the adventurer/ journalist that found Livingstone and uttered the oft quoted words 'Dr Livingstone I presume?') historical expedition through the Congo. Against all advice, following the path of the river through impenetrable, war torn lands where no white man has passed for decades (for good reason).

The preface had me hooked and so I bought it. It was an interesting and at times gripping read and gave me an understanding of Congolese history and a better insight into the history and effect of colonialism/ post-colonialism in Africa.

That said, I can't help but feel that the author's feat of crossing the Congo is more impressive than his writing (sorry Tim). For me the key message was that the DRoCongo is reflective of many African nations which struggle with corruption at the highest levels and where a lack of civil law and order undermines the (potential) economy and soceity at every level.

Maybe the author is right in repeatedly emphasising this important point but I would have got the message from an hour TV documentary (which would have been great) or a two page newspaper article. Nevertheless a good read (6/10).

The Horror of a Failed State - Rated
This is an excellent book, not just because it is a good read but because it describes a failed state in all its despair and horror and in so doing should provide a warning for the rest of Africa.

Having witnessed in Kenya how near the surface lie the various tribal tensions and in Zimbabwe the destruction of a country in less than 10 years by a power mad despot, the Congo, as described by Tim Butcher, must be an object lesson in what can happen when government collapses and anarchy rules.

Depressing but fascinating.