The consul's wife

the long version

In The Consul's Wife, W.T. Tyler returns once more to Africa, specifically to the Congo, where his protagonist, Hugh Mathews, a young foreign service officer, must cope with his embassy's ineptitude and its shallow-thinking bureaucrats even as he comes to terms with the confusion of feuding tribes and rebel factions living in the timeless and all but impenetrable wilderness surrounding the capital. Featuring a huge cast of characters - petty dictators, CIA operatives, a sorcerer who can summon lightning from the sky - and set during the era of America's increasing involvement in Vietnam half a world away, The Consul's Wife is also a love story of great power and resonance.