A novel of betrayal, redemption and love, set in Zimbabwe and Yorkshire

31st December 2018

The Lion Tamer Who Lost by Louise Beech, a novel of betrayal, redemption and love, set in Zimbabwe and Yorkshire.

Love goes with us – it is light and has easy-to-grip handles and needs no passport

In the Irish Times the author talks about recasting her character Andrew as gay. When she first wrote the novel, she had struggled to get any interest from publishers and just knew that something didn’t feel quite right. So when someone pointed out that maybe Amy should be a different sex and gay, the pieces all fell into place.

The Lion Tamer Who Lost is almost a book within a book. Andrew is writing a children’s book with the same title and by chance with a character who happens to be called Ben (book Ben) – and Ben in real life becomes his lover.

Andrew also has a wish box but although some ambitions may be realised, things can also turn out very differently than anticipated. In other words, be careful what you wish for!

Andrew and Ben find each other at a time when each is struggling with the ripple effects of a difficult background. Ben in particular has to defend himself against his bigoted father Will (who never seems to have had a moral compass ..and there are plenty of revelations to come). Ben’s stress manifests in counting to keep his world ordered and he also suffers from acyrologia, the inappropriate use of some words.

As the book opens we find Ben in Zimbabwe, caring for lions and in particular for Lucy, a tiny cub who is assigned to his care. We also know early on that something has happened to his relationship with Andrew and as the story unfolds, the reader discovers how profound and meaningful that relationship has been for both. Clearly Ben has escaped to volunteer at a lion sanctuary, in part to do his bit for lions but also to gather his thoughts, ponder his familial situation and reflect on his relationship with Andrew. In Zimbabwe he finds solace with Esther, the two volunteers working together, enabling their respective cubs to return to the wild.

Being in Zimbabwe with the lions is nothing like the pitiful lion he once saw at the circus, a shackled creature. And that is the essence of the novel, how can any of us be free when we are moulded by family structure, illness and defined by societal norms? Releasing lions into the wild in Zimbabwe is somehow a redemptive process….

The author clearly has tremendous passion for certain causes and values, and in this book explores how freedom can be won, despite constraint. With love, many things are possible.

Zimbabwe is perhaps more of an indicative setting, an expression of a place that is exotic and very different to Yorkshire and thus setting, in TripFiction terms, is not overly strong.

Tina for the TripFiction Team

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