Ahead of the Shadows by A.B. Kyazze

Overview
When a photographer witnesses war crimes, will she have to abandon her calling to save herself?


As Lena and Kojo work in conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Darfur, Sudan and other places across East and Central Africa, there is immense psychological pressure, and it’s not certain if their relationship will survive.

Eighteen years later, Bene walks the gritty back streets of Paris for one night in a music festival. He is on his way to meet his father in Nairobi, Kenya, a man he’s never met.

Ahead of the Shadows is about the intense relationships that come from work in war zones, the transmission of trauma from one generation to the next, and how one unconventional boy might be able to break the cycle.

Bio

A.B. Kyazze
Ahead of the Shadows
Release date: 30 September 2022


Short Bio:
A.B. Kyazze is a British-American writer and photographer, having worked in many different humanitarian emergencies before settling in London. Her writing is based on more than 18 years working for humanitarian agencies in Africa, Asia and the Balkans. Her debut novel, Into the Mouth of the Lion, was published by Unbound in May 2021. She has also published the Humanity in the Landscape photography book series, and a number of flash fiction short stories, articles and book reviews. She lives in southeast London with her young family, where she works as a freelance copy editor and mentors other writers. In May 2022 A.B. Kyazze was granted a London Borough of Culture 2022 award to facilitate creative writing workshops in schools and libraries across Lewisham.


More detailed bio:
A.B. Kyazze is a British–American writer and photographer. She spent nearly two decades writing and taking photographs around the world in conflicts and natural disasters – in Africa, Asia and Southern Europe. Her photographs and non-fiction work have been published in travel magazines, The Huffington Post, The Washington Times, The International Review of the Red Cross, and by Oxfam, Save the Children, and the British Red Cross.

Into the Mouth of the Lion, A.B. Kyazze’s debut novel, was published in May 2021. Set in the final days of Angola’s civil war, it is the story of a young photographer looking for her missing sister in a very dangerous landscape. This is followed by Ahead of the Shadows, published in September 2022. Ahead of the Shadows is set in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan (Darfur) and Paris. It is the continuing story of humanitarian workers labouring under intense conditions, and how this can strain relationships to breaking point. It is also about the impact on the next generation, and how one unconventional boy might be able to break the cycle.

A.B. Kyazze has also published the Humanity in the Landscape photography book series, and a number of flash fiction short stories, articles and book reviews. Today, she lives in southeast London with her young family, writing, mentoring other writers, and running a freelance editing business.

In May 2022 A.B. Kyazze was awarded a London Borough of Culture grant as part of the We Are Lewisham initiative, in order to facilitate creative writing workshops in schools and libraries. She is a trustee for a new creative writing charity, the Oxford Centre for Fantasy.

My Thoughts

This book is hard to explain and to really detail how I felt about it. I felt that while it was slower than my standard read the book had great writing.

The book was entertaining and I really didn’t know a lot about the places that they mentioned so it will be more research to see what I can find out about these places.

Bene wasn’t my most favourite characters but I found the story compelling and I really enjoyed reading about the places and people.

It felt like I was there with the characters and it makes me want to travel to those places to actually see them for myself.

The writing style was very moving and I would definitely read more of this authors books especially with the descriptions that they put in of those far away places.