About the Author

B.A.K. Sim
Born in Denmark, B.A.K. Sim has spent most of her adult life abroad. She has lived in 10 countries and was posted as a diplomat to Brazil, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, India and Zimbabwe. Trained as a chancellor, she knew the foreign service inside and out, and often acted as chargé d'affaires a.i. While in India she established diplomatic relations between Bhutan and Denmark. She has rubbed shoulders with ministers and politicians, international dignitaries, royalty and celebrities from television and broadcasting. B.A.K. Sim lived in Zimbabwe for 22 years, and now resides in Victoria, BC, Canada, with her Canadian husband.


Double Rainbow at Full Moon: Surviving the collapse of Zimbabwe

Bodie and Clyde return to Zimbabwe in 2007, but the good times have departed. The country has the highest inflation in the world; people resort to suitcases and wheelbarrows, just to carry the money. Isolated from the rest of the world, they experience shortages of food, water and electricity, with endless line-ups for gas if any is available. The banking system is collapsing and only by trading on the black market are people able to feed themselves. To survive, Clyde's factory converts to producing ox-drawn carts. Governing party backed violence is worsening as a general election is called. Against all odds, many of the people come together across racial, religious and cultural lines. This is a story about how people react in times of extreme adversity. It is about survival, love, imagination and willpower. DOUBLE RAINBOW AT FULL MOON is also a wake-up call to the Western world about the consequences of economic mismanagement - a real human and economic thriller!

Read an Excerpt

Download this PDF sampler of Double Rainbow at Full Moon.


Buy This Book

Pick the Amazon website closest to you (USA or UK) below to order the quality paperback edition:


Kindle edition (USA store and UK store) at $5.99:


The PDF eBook edition is priced at $5.99. You can download it and begin reading immediately:
http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/double-rainbow-at-full-moon-surviving-the-collapse-of-zimbabwe/13796083


The ePub eBook edition is priced at $5.99. You can download it and begin reading immediately:
Buy this e-book at Smashwords.com


Reviews/Appearances

From KIRKUS REVIEWS: 'EXCELLENT AND INFORMATIVE' 'WELL-WRITTEN, FASCINATING'

In this novel set in Zimbabwe in the early 2000s, a Danish former diplomat and her Canadian husband cope with hardships as the country's economy collapses in the wake of Robert Mugabe's disastrous land reforms.

As a seasoned diplomat, Bodie has lived all over the world and experienced many cultures. Since the 1990s, she and her husband, Clyde, have been in Africa, mostly in Zimbabwe. Clyde, who runs a plant that produces agricultural carts, is currently recovering from lung cancer. But unfortunately for them, the president of the country, Robert Mugabe, recently embarked on a campaign of discriminatory land reform, which led to international sanctions, resulting in the collapse of the country's economy. Clyde and Bodie must endure the subsequent hyperinflation, food shortages, power outages and the harassment of whites. Yet through it all, as she goes from place to place searching - sometimes in vain - for the basic necessities, she and her friends and acquaintances meet and talk and share drinks and generally do what they must to maintain some semblance of a normal life. Bodie's story unfolds as a series of episodes, ranging from the poor treatment her sick, white piano teacher received at the hospital to the kidnapping of her husband. Through it all, Bodie and Clyde look for a way out without completely giving up on the business they've worked so hard to build. Told in the first person, Sim's novel unfolds in crisp, matter-of-fact prose. She has a keen eye for cultural differences, and she presents life in Zimbabwe in clear detail. Her character sketches bring the people suffering under Mugabe's rule into sharp focus, the only exception being Clyde, who never seems to come fully to life in the way other characters do. But that's only a minor quibble in this otherwise excellent and informative book.

A well-written, fascinating look at day-to-day life in a nation on the brink of collapse.

OTHER REVIEWS

  • "B.A.K. Sim's eloquent descriptive writing draws you into a thrilling yet unnerving and astonishing journey in Zimbabwe during the financial collapse, rampant hyper-inflation and the dependence on the black market and a .38 caliber for survival, ultimately ending with a harrowing escape."
    - Phyllis Campanello, C.H.A., San Francisco, CA
  • "Beautifully written - an important contribution to history and politics. A powerful saga, told with humour and compassion, capturing common life during troubled times, bringing out the best and the worst in people."
    - Margaret Spark, University Administrator/Editor, Victoria, BC
  • "A wonderful book creating a vivid picture of the downfall of a beautiful country, and how this has resulted in a catastrophic lack of food, law and order. Well worth reading."
    - A. Crawshaw, MA, Cand.phil., Copenhagen University, Denmark

RECENT AND UPCOMING APPEARANCES



Terms of Use / Privacy Policy / Contact Us
Copyright 2013 Trelawny Consulting Group Ltd. All Rights Reserved