THE DISTANCE BETWEEN STARS

In this debut literary novel, a diplomat searches for a missing journalist in Africa.

Diplomat Joe Kellerman serves at the American Embassy in Umbika, a fictional country in East Africa undergoing a period of political unrest. He and his co-workers have just learned that they must play host to rabble-rousing American columnist Maurice Hightower, the “most popular black journalist ever.” Hightower has been accusing the current American administration—including Kellerman and his colleagues—of supporting the rebels in Umbika to undermine the country’s “Life President,” strongman J.J. Mulenga. “The rebels steal the food you send, but Umbikans are told it’s the Life President who’s doing it,” claims Hightower after he has landed. “Washington gets high-and-mighty about human rights and says it’s time for the Life President to step down. Tricksters in Washington have done this before. They’ve done it all over the world.” Kellerman is expected to show Hightower around so he can see that nothing is amiss in America’s behavior, but when the journalist takes a side trip on his own and disappears, the diplomat is tasked with finding him. Kellerman’s hunt for the strong-willed man—whose angry claims challenge everything the diplomat believes about Africa and America—turns into a quest to find something even trickier: a deeper understanding of his own presence in Umbika. Elzinga’s economic prose captures the pragmatic, slightly annoyed disposition of Kellerman, the narrator, who regards Umbika with a mix of admiration, frustration, and detachment. Hightower is the diplomat’s perfect foil and succeeds in baiting Kellerman into espousing impatience for ideas of systemic racism: “ ‘I’ve read your column,’ I said, feeling free to say anything on my mind. ‘I know what you think about white people. I know why you’re here.’ ‘Then you know I didn’t come here to find white folks to argue with. I came here to find the truth.’ ‘The truth? Ha. Slavery ended a hundred years ago. That’s the truth.’ ” Kellerman’s responsibilities as a foreign service officer—enumerated in great detail—are both grounding and immersive. The book has its lulls, but it represents an intriguing and often exciting update on the diplomatic novels of the 20th century.

A frequently thrilling, sometimes slow tale that doesn’t shy away from thorny issues.