SYMBOLS OF SURVIVAL

Press, 18 September 1976, Page 13

SYMBOLS OF SURVIVAL

The Cheetahs. By Alan Caillou. Hodder and Stoughton. 231 pp. $8.35. (Reviewed by Lorna Buchanan) . Perhaps no such places as the Weyna Daga or Kualla exist in East Africa, in the lost, barren world where Somalia and Ethiopia run together. But after reading the first few pages of “The Cheetahs” readers begin to feel and smell and know the land as intimately as do the superb animals which are the chief characters of this surprising novel. Such is the power of description of Alan Caillou, a British intelligence officer turned novelist.

The cheetahs of the title are captured, as very young' cubs, after Aklilu, the young native warrior, has run their mother to death as she tried to lead him away from her lair. Aklilu

carries the spitting cubs home to the scant safety of his compound. As the cubs grow 7, animals and man face together the harsh elements of the land, including the dreadful "tig,” a sudden wall of rushing water that bursts down from the mountains without warning. Survival strengthens the bond between the growing cubs and Aklilu. With loyalty proven and established, the cheetahs and their human companion grow into a team which becomes a symbol of the ancient, profound unity of men and beasts. Competition between the species remains; Mr Caillou is more than a starry environmentalist; but a deeper harmony emerges as man and cheetahs learn mutual dependence, mutual respect, and even mutual love in the struggle for survival.