Rhinoceros or the Beast’s Biographer is an alternative history set during the 16th century. The African Kikuyo tribe train the rhinoceros as a beast of war and invade ‘Yurop’.
Ode, the son of the Chief Elder, is trained as a Griot, a traditional ‘Afrik’ storyteller. His role is to witness and celebrate the actions of the rhino mounted warriors led by his father.
As the teller of stories, Ode is attracted to the drama of war. But he begins to wonder if history is anything more than the transcription of murder? And does his celebration and re-telling of violent events encourage their bloody quest and even support the tacit suggestion that killing is a natural and inevitable human endeavour.
Running counter to the violence is the love story between Ode, and Anna, a white Southern Yuropan. Anna, highly intelligent, and confrontational has spent her life trying to be heard in a culture that belittles intelligent women. Through their shared knowledge of the Latin tongue, and their profound loneliness, Ode and Anna, become friends and lovers.
The Beast’s Biographer is a story of love, duty, fraternity and bloody conquest.
