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I picked this one at a second-hand books store. The discount was really good and quite honestly, among all the books, this was the only title that I had heard of.
The book is an account of the Scottish doctor Nicholas Garrigan who is appointed as the personal physician of the Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin. The book recounts his journey from being a general doctor to that of being a close confidante of Idi Amin. The doctor gets a close encounter with the lives of people in Uganda who initially look forward with great optimism to living a better life under Amin's rule after he overthrows the previous President Milton Obote but are finally left languishing to a bad fate under the abusive rule of Amin. Besides painting a picture of the landscape of Uganda as well as the lives of people, the author does a commendable job of giving a close up view of the chaotic mind of Idi Amin.
Throughout the book, Dr. Garrigan is shown as someone who is averse to take even the slightest of risks. This is understandable given how unruly Amin is. But given the circumstances in the book, it is difficult to imagine that someone will always be as timid as Dr. Garrigan. By the end of the book, the character of Dr. Garrigan is simply so frail an attitude, that any incident without Amin in it, seemed like a pushover to read. It is also difficult to understand why Amin will even confide in someone like Dr. Garrigan just because he is his doctor albeit blessed with a superior skill.
Until quite late in the book, I kept believing that the entire narration is entirely based on facts and that a Dr. Garrigan really exists. It took me a while to realize that the book is a fictional account based on news reports. The book could have been much shorter had it focused on Amin rather than the non-events in the life of Dr. Garrigan. I am sure a biography of Amin would make a better read.
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