Wessel Ebersohn's "Those Who Love Night," the movie

Now showing at My Book, The Movie: The October Killings and Those Who Love Night by Wessel Ebersohn.

The entry begins:

These two thrillers have the same central characters, Yudel Gordon and Abigail Bukula, but the settings are very different. The October Killings takes place in South Africa, a country where utilities work and much of the population lives by the standards of developed countries. The future is still uncertain but, for now, things function and human rights are observed.

Those Who Love Night, on the other hand, takes place in Zimbabwe, a dictatorship where the electric power comes and goes without warning, where traffic lights only work intermittently and where only the well-heeled shop in supermarkets. For the impoverished majority life is a continual struggle for survival.

Of the two central characters, Yudel Gordon, has been around longer than Abigail, having appeared in three earlier books without Abigail. He is ageing, Jewish, very intelligent and intuitive. His strengths are balanced by surprising vulnerability. He sometimes lacks confidence, but makes up for this, by great tenacity.

If I could choose an actor to play him Al Pacino would be my choice. Pacino possesses the subtlety and sensitivity, underlain by strength, that would be needed to do justice to Yudel. He is also about the right age and build. His obvious intelligence means that he would not have to pretend it. His...[read on]

Learn more about the books and author at Wessel Ebersohn's website and blog.

The Page 69 Test: The October Killings.

My Book, The Movie: The October Killings and Those Who Love Night.

--Marshal Zeringue