Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
It’s two stories in a way: Aidan’s reporting in Africa, including Rwanda – serious crisis reporting – and then the story of this friend of his father’s, Peter Davey, a British diplomat who practically went native in Yemen and who died in mysterious circumstances.
Third book?
The Zanzibar Chest – these first three books are all about people doing good in the world. This time the author, Aidan Hartley, worked for Reuters as a freelancer for many years. He has an interesting family history: his father lived in Yemen and I was lent Aidan’s book by a Yemeni general, who recommended it to me.
It’s two stories in a way: Aidan’s reporting in Africa, including Rwanda – serious crisis reporting – and then the story of this friend of his father’s, Peter Davey, a British diplomat who practically went native in Yemen and who died in mysterious circumstances. They’re almost two different stories and they possibly don’t even belong in the same book, but I love the book. There’s so much material from Aidan’s journalism, a lot of it horrific, a lot of it very personal. Aidan Hartley took a lot of drugs and slept with a lot of women, and if you’re a woman memoirist you’re going to find it harder to get away with that kind of material.
But what I like about Aidan’s life is that he took major risks. He was right in the centre of the action and it really gives you a sense of what went on there, which you don’t necessarily get when you just read the papers. He talks about the effect of doing this war reporting on a relationship he’s having, and how, actually, his relationship is supported by the adrenaline of what he’s doing and tends to falter when he’s on holiday.
Read full interview
Jennifer Steil is a writer, journalist and actor currently living in Yemen. She has worked for several newspapers, both in America and abroad, while continuing to perform in theatres where it is legal for her to do so (ie, not in Yemen). Her memoir about running a newspaper in Yemen, The Woman Who Fell From the Sky, is published by Doubleday. ‘People who put themselves in uncomfortable situations end up with interesting stories to tell,’ she says. ‘If I’d believed the US State Department website I would never have come to Yemen.’
