James Hendry Launches A Year in the Wild at St John's College
Flaming fires and sunset on a private lawn at St John’s College, Houghton was reminiscent of an African bush setting and the perfect place for Old Johnian James Hendry to launch his book, A Year in the Wild.
Pan Macmillan’s Terry Morris introduced James Hendry and assured those gathered that the book was entertaining, funny and sad, adding that the publishing house was delighted to publish this book.
Guests mingled on the lawn sipping wine, snacking and chatting as entertaining James Hendry reflected on his journey to writing this novel.
“There is nothing in my childhood that would have led anyone to believe that I would become a game ranger,” he said. “The only nature-inspired holiday our family ever took was a short trip to the Kruger Park which ended in us getting a stomach bug and me being introduced to the sadistic suppository.”
The only thing that Hendry was certain of when matriculating was that he didn’t want to study law or finance, and so he settled for a degree in Wildlife Science at UKZN in Pietermaritzburg, surprising himself and his family. Upon completion of his degree, he was still undecided about his future, so he hung around in Maritzburg, joined a band, and for a year, he “wrote good songs, and dressed badly”.
When the band gig ended, Hendry found himself employed as a game ranger, and he had to undertake a solitary ten-day walk through the bush. “I was unarmed and on my own, but it was a profound, life-changing event. I finally understood my place in the world.”
Hendry recounted anecdotes about his experiences in the bush and proved that he is more than just an author – with friend Duncan Maclary he amused guests with a repertoire of singing styles and acting.
While A Year in the Wild draws on Hendry’s experiences and “misadventures”, Hendry insisted, with a twinkle in his eye, that “this book is set in a place that doesn’t exist, and the characters that appear in the book aren’t based on anybody I know – absolutely, definitely not.”
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Book details
- A Year in the Wild by James Hendry
EAN: 9781770101302
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