Mission, a novel set in Kenya by Philip Spires, is published by Libros International and is the author’s first published novel, though it will eventually form part of a ‘Kenyan trilogy’, which will deal with different events in the lives of the same set of characters. The second book in the trilogy, A Fool’s Knot, is complete and will be ready for publication later this year. Mission is an African novel, not a novel about Africa.
Philip Spires is British and was born in 1952 in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. He spent his first ten years in Sharlston, then a mining village, followed by eight years in Crofton, a mile nearer Wakefield. He went to London University, where he obtained a BSc in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College and a PGCE from King's, qualifying as a teacher of mathematics. After two years as a VSO in Kenya, he taught in London for 16 years and devoted much of his spare time to assisting an NGO concerned with development and human rights. After completing an MA in education in 1992, he worked in Brunei technical education until 1999. He then worked in Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates for three years. Since 2003, he has lived in Spain, and has completed a PhD in education’s role in Philippine development and his first published novel, Mission. He has maintained his links with West Yorkshire, since his father still lives in Sharlston.
Mission is set in mid-1970s Kenya. Five characters, a priest, a politician, a teacher, a school graduate and a retired army officer see a series of events from their own individual perspectives. The central chapter is set thirty years later in London to offer a perspective on how lives change. The novel deals with the concept of identity, seen through filters of poverty, religion, politics and, underpinning everything, an idea of justice, a continuum within which each character is seen to pursue some personal mission.
Philip Spires wrote the novel over twenty years ago. It travelled with Philip and his wife, Caroline, as they moved to Brunei and then to the United Arab Emirates, but only as a set of five files stored on an old-style floppy disk. Just a year or so ago, during a month of necessary waiting while his PhD thesis awaited its rubber stamp from the university office, the floppy disk came to hand during a clear out. Rather than throw it away with the rest, Philip placed it in a drive and retrieved four of the five files. On re-reading the book after so long, Philip was genuinely surprised at how good it was! He then edited the four existing chapters, changing just a few aspects of the text, and then wrote a new central chapter to replace the one that was lost. And then Libros International appeared and the book was accepted for publication. For details of the book visit www.philipspires.co.uk