"Beautifully rendered in John Brownjohn's translation . . . [a] magnificent novel." - Giles Foden, author of The Last King of Scotland

"A war-torn farce worth waiting for." - The Independent

It is November 1913 and three German shipbuilders, led by master shipwright Anton Rüter, are ordered by Kaiser Wilhelm to dismantle a steam ship, send the parts to German East Africa, and reassemble it on Lake Tanganyika. But their aim of getting the job done and returning home quickly is soon eclipsed by the enchantment of the exotic landscape and the violent machinery of colonialism.

At the same time, Winston Churchill sends the eccentric Commander Geoffrey Spicer-Simson to transport two dilapidated and incongruously named gun-boats, Mimi and Toutou, to the other side of the lake. When World War I breaks out, the Germans and British are facing each other, and the German shipbuilders reluctantly find themselves fighting under the unsympathetic Captain-Lieutenant Gustav von Zimmer. In the midst of the horrors of war, however, there are moments of great humor and pathos.

Alex Capus was born in 1961 and has published numerous works, including novels, collections of short stories, essays, and historical accounts, as well as translations of A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole and three novels by John Fante.

John Borwnjohn is a renowned literary translator. His work has won him critical acclaim and numerous awards on both sides of the Atlantic, including the Schlegel-Tieck Prize (three times), the US PEN, and the Helen and Kurt Wolff Prize.