Baboon King

Raised by a Kikuyu mother sold into marriage to his Masai father, Morengaru is never fully accepted by either tribe. He returns to his mother's birthplace because ""life with the Masai had become impossible,"" but as a half-Masai, Morengaru lives apart from the rest of the Kikuyu tribe. When he kills the leopard that has been threatening the tribe's cattle, he earns a cow and bull of his own and, with his new property, a place of esteem among the Kikuyu. Yet he loses everything, and is even banished from the tribe, after he accidentally kills a young nyama (spear carrier) who plays a prank by dressing up in the offending leopard's skin and rousing Morengaru from his sleep. Dutch writer Quintana is at his best when Morengaru thrills to the hunt; his descriptions of the baboon tribe, and especially the pivotal lion kill that earns Morengaru his Masai moran spear are riveting. But the narrative switches points of view often, particularly at the beginning of the novel, from that of the leopard to Morengaru's vindictive Kikuyu grandfather to Morengaru himself, sometimes in the same paragraph--and even breaks into second-person narration at times; and the sporadic use of flashback is confusing. The author never explains why Morengaru would leave the Masai after his triumphant showdown with the lion, nor will readers likely understand why he leaves the baboons at the close of the novel. Quintana imparts some interesting facts about life on the grasslands, but leaves too many threads hanging. Ages 12-up. (Apr.)