βThe new generation of twenty-first-century African writers have now come of age. Without a doubt Habila is one of the best.ββEmmanuel Dongala In the oil-rich and environmentally devastated Nigerian Delta, the wife of a British oil executive has been kidnapped. Two journalistsβa young upstart, Rufus, and a once-great, now disillusioned veteran, Zaqβare sent to find her. In a story rich with atmosphere and taut with suspense, Oil on Water explores the conflict between idealism and cynical disillusionment in a journey full of danger and unintended consequences.
As Rufus and Zaq navigate polluted rivers flanked by exploded and dormant oil wells, in search of βthe white woman,β they must contend with the brutality of both government soldiers and militants. Assailed by irresolvable versions of the βtruthβ about the womanβs disappearance, dependent on the kindness of strangers of unknowable loyalties, their journalistic objectivity will prove unsustainable, but other values might yet salvage their human dignity.
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