Drift
Paardeberg, South Africa is far from the Canadian prairies. In 1899, best friends from the small town of Portage la Prairie, Will and Mason, sign up with the Winnipeg Rifles A Company to fight in the Second Boer War. Here they meet Robert, the silent anthropologist from Alberta with a mystery he isnt revealing; Claire, an Australian nurse, chafing under her parents glass ceiling, who captures Wills heart at first sight; and Campbell Scott, a rebellious veteran with an African wife and a hot air balloon requisitioned by the army for spying.
All are fleeing their former lives but to be free they must face the shattered bodies of war. In the dust and desert of South Africa, they drift towards each other in ways that can spell either disaster or salvation. Different reasons fuel each persons motion: Mason wants to fight in the name of justice, pride, and manliness. Will, hesitant from the start, ultimately learns that war is hell. Claire struggles for independence, and Campbell Scott drowns his disillusions in his wifes potent homebrew.
Drift is about challenging and crossing borders and boundaries between and within countries, races, and individuals. History and fate have some hold over the characters but ultimately they have to make decisions in order to stop drifting.
With breathtaking grace, Leo Brent Robillard delivers an unstoppable story.
- Comment on the different meanings of the title.
- How and why have attitudes regarding war changed over the last century?
- Media and media coverage of war have also evolved since the Anglo-Boer War. How might these developments play a role in our changing attitudes?
- Despite all that has changed, the Anglo-Boer War and modern conflicts still have much in common. For instance, what parallels can be drawn between Canada’s current role in Afghanistan?
- A key conflict in the novel revolves around a disgraceful incident Will witnesses between Canadian troops and an African boy. This occurrence is loosely based upon an event that transpired while Canadian soldiers were serving in Somalia during the 1990s. How is it that amidst the atrocities of war, we can still be outraged by certain forms of violence while accepting others as necessary? Have these lines shifted in the last one hundred years?
- While war is often waged in the name of righteousness and justice – or human rights today – these philosophical concepts are, more often than not, thinly veiled dressing for slightly more base economic imperatives. During the Anglo-Boer War, it was access to diamonds and other resources in South Africa. What modern conflicts fit this description? Why do we feel the need to “dress up” these economic pursuits?
- When referring to Africa, Campbell says, “There are European footprints all over this continent. But the wind erases them eventually.” What does this mean? Is it true? Where else do we see this in history?
- All the characters in the novel find themselves at the mercy of history. Some attempt to carve out their own destinies within the confines of history, some ignore history, and some throw their hands up in defeat. Comment specifically on Will, Robert, Claire, Mason and Campbell. What about minor characters such as Siphokazi or Hilde?
- Discuss the development of Will’s relationship with Claire. How is their “love” believable?
- What, if anything, does Will learn on this journey? How is he different in the end?
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