A Spear of Summer Grass

Title:  A Spear of Summer Grass
Author:  Deanna Raybourn

In A Spear of Summer Grass we are introduced to Delilah Drummond and her life of high society in the roaring 20's.  Delilah, a strong and independent woman, finds herself in the middle of a scandal and flees (or rather is sent away) to the plains of Africa until things blow over.  As soon as she arrives to her destination, it is made perfectly clear that she is not wanted there and that she needs to steer clear of trouble.  The demand sounds simple enough but Delilah seems to attract trouble wherever she goes.

Delilah travels with her cousin Dora who serves as a sort of babysitter; making sure she doesn't get into any that much trouble.  Dora finds her own place in Africa as she observes, passes judgement, and takes her leave from Delilah's life.

While in Africa, Delilah meets Ryder and Gideon.

Ryder is an entrepreneur, of sorts, with a tough exterior but a soft and kind interior.  He is unapologetic for who he is but is a true and loyal friend to those who deserve it.  Ryder, like many in this book, has a past that is kept guarded with great care.  His story gets revealed one layer at a time. Ryder takes Delilah under his wing and teaches her to respect, love, and fear Africa and her inhabitants.

Gideon is a Masai Warrior who befriends Delilah and teaches her how to communicate with the native people as well as what their customs are.  He proves to be a true friend to the end.

*MY OPINIONS - MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS (MAY NOT)*

At first, I thought Delilah was a bit cold and uncaring.  Just going through life without giving a damn about how her actions could affect others.  As the story progressed, however, I started to see why Delilah had that persona.  It was her way of coping and shielding herself from heartbreak.  By the end of the book I actually admired her for being who she was despite other people's opinions and perceptions.  She never tried to justify or excuse her actions.  Even if what people thought of her was not true.  She would just let them believe what they believed and would, at times, play into it.  Her personal business was just that - personal.

Dora got on my nerves more than once.  She was very judgmental of her cousin and made presumptions that were not true.  One part that got to me was when Delilah was summoned by a neighbor who's husband had called upon her a couple of times for some friendly chat (nothing more) and Dora was acting so smug thinking that Delilah was going to get in trouble for doing something that she never actually did.  It turned out to be some sort of kinky party - go figure.  More than once I had the urge to reach inside the book, grab Dora, and slap her around.

I didn't really know what to think of Ryder at first.  He seemed kind of full of himself but at the same time it was evident that he was a hard worker and extremely loyal - admirable traits.  Ryder knew the terrain well and was handy with a gun (as was Delilah) so he took it upon himself to teach Delilah all she needed to know to survive in Africa.  Traveling around with Ryder is Gideon.  Delilah and Gideon form a bond - a sort of mutual respect for one another.  I think Gideon filled a family void for Delilah - He was a brotherly figure - Teaching her the ways and customs of Africa and helping her negotiate with the people of the land.

To be honest, I didn't know if I would like this book at all.  It is not a book that I would have chosen to read on my own.  It was being read for the book club I participate in (part-time) and so I decided to give it a go.  I can honestly say, however, that I enjoyed this book very much.  I was trapped in the essence of the time and setting; moved by the hidden emotions of past, present, and potential future.  Deanna Raybourn did an amazing job at crafting Delilah's story and making her world come to life.

*EXTRAS*

*First - While Delilah and her cousin were on a train, shortly after their arrival in Africa, Delilah starts reading a book about Africa.  She torments Dora with the story of some man-eating lions who fed on rail workers in the night while their companions listened to the screams and bone crunching of those being fed upon.  Sound familiar?  It did to me too so I did a little poking about.

That story sounded familiar to me because I remembered it as the plot to a movie that came out in the 90's staring Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas.  Any guess what that movie was?  Yup, it was The Ghost and the Darkness.  Now I have never seen the movie but I remember the movie trailers... anyway.  I looked the movie up on IMDB (kind of a go-to guide to movies for me) and read that it was based off of a true story.  So then I looked that up and low and behold I found information on the Tsavo Man-Eaters.  Over 30 workers were eaten within 9 months in 1898 by two mane-less male lions.  How terrifying is that!

*Second - So there is another part in the book towards the end where Delilah's ex-husband/solicitor (basically a lawyer) says something to the effect of, I didn't know it rained so much in Africa.  That one sentence reminded me of the song Africa by Toto and I have basically had that song in my head ever since.  The song reminds me of the book, the book reminds me of the song...  Enjoy the music video below:

Get the song here.

*Third - Casting Delilah Drummond.  I'm not usually one to cast the characters in books I read - mainly because I'm not very talented at it.  While I was looking through Pinterest, however, I came across a photo that was just spot on to what I envisioned in my mind whenever I thought of Delilah.  That photo was of actress Louise Brooks - best known for her role in Pandora's Box.  See the photo below.  And speaking of casting... I think that a movie adaptation of A Spear of Summer Grass would be fantabulous!

I took the photo from this post at Corvus Noir.

*Fourth - There is a prequel to A Spear of Summer Grass called Far in the Wilds starring none other than Ryder White!  So go forth and check it out!  (I will probably get to it next year.)

And that concludes my post on A Spear of Summer Grass.  As always, feel free to leave your comments below!


★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
In the last two posts here at EP Book Nerd, I created a couple of reading lists.  What I didn't realize is that they were both different.  I looked through both lists and compiled a new and improved list (see below)!  Yay!

Just Finished:  Death of a Mad Hatter by Jenn McKinlay
Currently Reading:  Taken by the Huntsman by Mistral Dawn
Up Next:  Poison Princess by Kresley Cole

Happy Reading!