The book review:
This is a very readable, fairly short novel that dwells on family relationships, on what is remembered and why. Truth is elusive, what counts is belief—whether that be fabrication or fact.

The story unfolds in Kenya and Uganda, but begins in New Mexico when twenty-something Ellie, a private, contained woman receives notification that her long-estranged father John Cameron has died in Kenya. Ellie returns to Kenya determined to sort out her knowledge and conflicting emotions about the man that she poorly remembered, but about whom she believed the worse.

Helen, Ellie’s mother, fled from the marital relationship (and Kenya) when Ellie was a child. Ellie’s good memories of Kenya focused on loyal household staff, the garden and her playmates—in short a child’s world. Bad memories, however, linked to her drunken distant father cast a pall on that long ago time.

The novel jumps back and forth between the past and the present. It chronicles Ellie’s current day quest as she wheedles information from her father’s acquaintances. Evoked by return to the places of her girlhood, memories vividly reawake. Filling out the story are descriptions of her parent’s courtship and marriage in the early sixties. I won’t give the plot away, but there are mysteries to unravel regarding a purported suicide and a murder. As more information falls into place, Ellie must revise her “truths” and in the process come to grips as to who she is and how much of her father is or is not inside her.

The characters are well drawn and quite believable, even in cameo roles. Intertwined in this narrative are marvelously accurate accountings of the independence era—for example, the impact of Mboya’s assassination on Nairobi’s residents. Author Finn also has the pulse of the ambiguities of racist white attitudes towards Kenyans as well as Kenyans’ acceptance of their roles vis-à-vis wazungu. The author truly captures these sentiments and by doing so paints an authentic picture of Kenya fifty years ago. Similarly, present day Kenya also is authentically portrayed thus providing the contrast wrought by change.

There is not a whole lot of Swahili in the book, but what is there is correct. I found only one geographical error: Busia was misspelled as Busiu; otherwise the Kenyan setting was impeccable.

In summary, Away From You is an entertaining story and a gripping read, especially so for Kenyaphiles. Some libraries will have it, but I bought a copy from Amazon for a dollar.