When the Lion Feeds
When the Lion Feeds is Wilbur Smith’s first novel, published in 1964. I’ve come it by a roundabout route, beginning with Power of the Sword and more recently having read Monsoon and Birds of Prey.
I don’t think it matters to read Smith out of sequence; in fact it possibly helps to evaluate his characters without pre-conceptions and expectations.
If I hadn’t known this was his first book I could have guessed. The later trademarks are all there including: Strong masculine lead character, equally strong female support roles, conflict between brothers, treks into the wilderness, hunting, fighting, etc.
The noticeable difference is in the narrative style. Later novels flow like a rapid river and there is no author commentary. In When the Lion Feeds, Smith pauses for reflection and this doesn’t always succeed. I wonder if he personally fine tuned his style after this debut novel, or if an editor went to work?
Some elements make this novel more interesting than others, especially the unpredictability, which renders it impossible to foresee the fortunes of the volatile Courtney hero.
There is more tragedy in this book than others by Smith that I’ve read, mixed with the usual humour. I enjoyed the circumstances of his wedding to the Afrikaner trek girl, Katrina. Her father threatened Courtney with dire punishment if he harmed the girl, and a Portugese priest had to be fetched from hundreds of miles away to marry the pair before their child was born.
Katrina’s suicide was written with moving empathy.
This book sets the scene for Smith’s later works and should form part of any fan’s library.
I'm a 41-year-old father of four working as a newspaper editor at Mount Gambier in South Australia.
