The river and the book - Alison Croggon

Combining magical realism and fable, this lyrical tale is the story of a landscape and community destroyed by Western greed.

From the internationally bestselling author of the high fantasy series The Books of Pellinor comes a powerful story about the exploitation of indigenous people by the First World. Endorsed by Amnesty International as contributing to a better understanding of human rights, this poetic coming-of-age story combines magical realism and fable, and features beautiful black-and-white chapter illustrations. Simbala's village has two treasures: the River, their road and their god; and the Book, their history, their oracle and their soul. Simbala is a Keeper of the Book, the latest in a long line of women who can use it to find answers to the villagers' questions. As developers begin to poison the River on which the villagers rely, the Book predicts change. But this does not come in the form that they expect; it is the sympathetic foreigner who comes to the village who inflicts the greatest damage of all.