The Old Drift

A colonial settlement near Victoria Falls becomes the starting point for a century-spanning story of three families whose lives repeatedly cross. The novel moves from the early 1900s through Zambian independence and onward into a near-future marked by technology, disease, and political change.

Across three generations, the narrative follows grandmothers, mothers, and children from different racial and national backgrounds as their relationships, ambitions, losses, and inheritances collide. Their stories are repeatedly interrupted and reframed by a collective mosquito chorus that comments on the human world.

The book combines historical events, speculative elements, and surreal episodes to build a national and family saga. It gradually brings separate family lines together while exploring how personal lives are shaped by colonial history, social change, and the pressures of the future.