Böcker av Alan Whelan

Seven women and three men leave the city to avoid the pandemic. They isolate together in the country, where they pass the time working, flirting, eating, drinking, making music, and, above all, telling stories.For some, the lockdown was a time of bitterness and conspiracy theories, and it was hard for almost everyone. But it was also a time when most people did what they could to look out for each other. The Lockdown Tales: Emergence follows the second, more stressful year of lockdown, but again tells stories that are moving, bawdy, funny or satirical, and always compassionate.Praise for The Lockdown Tales"A witty, crisp, and lively imagination let loose: the defiant challenge to a lockdown . . . The best book of stories I've read since Lucia Berlin's A Manual for Cleaning Women, and before that probably David Malouf 's The Complete Stories."- Adrian Colman, Professor Emeritus of English, University of Tasmania"Alan Whelan brings us a clever, sensual and sometimes poignant collection of stories that would make Boccaccio proud."- Tangea Tansley, author of A Question of Belonging"An old frame for a sharp new snapshot of contemporary Australia."- Leigh Swinbourne, author of Shadow in the Forest

On his third solo African motorcycle journey, Alan Whelan turns to one of the defining features of the continent: Lake Victoria. Using the lake as a hub, Empire Road reveals the beauty and the tragedy, the inspiration and the ingenuity of a region that still resonates from the days of empire. After acquiring a boda-boda motorcycle taxi in Nairobi, he undertakes a thrilling ride around Africa's greatest lake, travelling through Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania, on roads and tracks that once brought the great Victorian explorers to the interior. Alan continues his uncanny knack of meeting the most fascinating people who will live long in the memory, from Kenya's superstar long-distance runners to survivors of the Rwandan genocide. He even finds time for an impromptu audience with Barack Obama's elusive Kenyan grandmother.

Travelling against the backdrop of Ghana's Black Stars' thrilling performance in the 2010 World Cup, Alan Whelan sets off on a motorcycle adventure into the heart of West Africa. Curious to discover the current state of Ghana after two generations of independent rule within his lifetime, he rides optimistically on a continent that has had its fair share of trauma. On this, his second major African journey, he aims to prove the lie to the warning in 1951 by a British politician that to allow African colonies their independence would be "like giving a child a latch-key, a bank account and a shotgun".He meets witches, fetish priestesses, custodians of the slave trade, and the only white chief of Ashanti who confirm that - if Ghana is an indication of progress - the future of the continent is bright. The fuel for the trip becomes the electric atmosphere in every town and village he visits as the Black Stars progress through the World Cup taking place in South Africa. He becomes convinced that their success is partially down to the mysterious black powder he is given by a fetish priest. 'It is from the bush,' says the priest. 'This powder will keep you safe. It is powerful!'But will it see the Black Stars to the final - and will it see him to the end of the journey?