The Last King Of Scotland
(Gilles Foden)
THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
The last king of sotland of the title is none other than former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin Dada, the psychopath who ruled this African nation from 1971 to 1979. He felt a particular affinity with the Scots -- having been treated well by them, learned from them, and believing to have a common enemy with them in England. The hero of Giles Foden's book -- insofar as it is not Idi Amin himself -- is a hapless Scottish doctor, Nicholas Garrigan. Coming to Uganda as an idealist he inadvertently finds himself pulled into Amin's orbit, becoming his doctor.
In this position -- though it always remains a peripheral one -- Garrigan becomes witness to Amin's atrocities. Foden paints an excellent picture of the horrors of Amin's Uganda, almost all of it told through the veil of Garrigan who does not really want to see what is happening around him. Foden also very adeptly captures the creeping horror which appears only intermittently and slowly.Garrigan is the perfect observer, marked by his inaction. The British eventually want him to try to kill Amin, but here as elsewhere he begs off. He does not want to be involved, preferring his entirely passive position. This is useful through much of the narrative, but it is also enervating. Garrigan is too hapless, too peripheral, too ineffectual.. The book is also a bit too carefree in placing Garrigan at the center of history. He arrives on the eve of Amin's takeover, he tries to flee the country from Entebbe airport the day the hijacked plane lands there, and so on. What is surprising then is the almost trancelike passing of this whole ignominious episode of history. Before we even realize it Amin has been deposed with guess who riding in with the victorious Tanzanian forces. The historical moment that Amin represented is given little weight, the complex socio-political factors involved only lightly touched upon, and the international forces and interests involved largely only alluded to. This is acceptable, but makes it difficult for those who are not familiar with Ugandan history though Foden explains the state of Uganda and its pre-Amin difficulties fairly well.
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