Foreign Land

After forty years in Africa, George Grey returns to an England, a daughter, and friends who are to him absurd, and he sets out to sea on a disordered journey through his life and toward home

After 40 years, George Grey is leaving his work in foreign countries and returning to live in retirement in England. He returns to a daughter who scares him, a house that haunts him, and a culture that befuddles him. It is only in purchasing a small boat that he recovers a sense of personal balance. Returning to the ocean provides the security that his native land and his compatriots seem to suck out of him. Raban's new novel is a kindly exploration of the psyche of an expatriate Englishman trying to adjust to post-empire Britain. The descriptions of people and places give a true sense of the ``new'' life George faces rather unwillingly. The reader will enjoy accompanying George on his voyages, both nautical and personal. Highly recommended. W. Keith McCoy, Plainfield P.L., N.J.
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.