A Journey to the Dark Heart of Nameless Unspeakable Evil

Charities, Hollywood, Joseph Kony, and Other Abominations

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Pub Date 22 Apr 2014 | Archive Date 06 Aug 2014
Nortia Press | The Editorial Department

Description

When renegade British comedy writer Jane Bussmann found herself interviewing Hollywood celebrities for a day job, she fled to war-torn Uganda for a better life… and to seduce a sexy peacemaker. The result was this book, a brand new genre of hard-hitting comic investigation heralded by war correspondents and comedy titans alike.

When renegade British comedy writer Jane Bussmann found herself interviewing Hollywood celebrities for a day job, she fled to war-torn Uganda for a better life… and to seduce a sexy peacemaker. The...


Advance Praise

Praise for A Journey to the Dark Heart of Nameless Unspeakable Evil:

“Who knew war in Uganda could be hilarious as well as moving.” —Nicholas Kristof, columnist for the New York Times

“So funny you almost feel guilty laughing.” —Reuters

“This book will change your life. Must read at all costs. ★★★★★!” —Mirror

“One of the funniest books I’ve read for a long while.” —Sunday Times Pick of the Week

“Most sneakily subversive medium for a heretically important message I’ve seen. Inappropriately f*cking hilarious and absolutely gut-wrenching. Must-read.”
—BOOK South Africa

“Bussmann has invented a new genre—the agony/comedy. And it’s very, very funny.”
—The Lady

“Marrying vociferous rage with humor. . . a marvelously maverick approach to the investigation of war crimes. ★★★★★!” —Marie Claire

“I found myself convulsed with sinus-clearing snorts of astonished laughter. . . this potty-mouthed, sarcastic, self-deprecating female journalist with no track record on Africa and a ludicrously inappropriate CV has succeeded where scores of doughty, better-qualified males routinely stumble.” —Michela Wrong, The Spectator

“Cannot be recommended too highly; full of foul-mouthed vigor, insightful, scathing, savagely funny and ultimately heartbreaking. Buy, beg, steal or borrow this hilarious, angry book—but read it.” —The Times South Africa

“That rarest of things. . . a comedy that is truly funny.” —The Guardian

“Angry and hilarious, this is a little classic.” —Standard Pick of the Year

“Very funny. Jane’s got a death wish.” —Matt Stone, South Park

Praise for A Journey to the Dark Heart of Nameless Unspeakable Evil:

“Who knew war in Uganda could be hilarious as well as moving.” —Nicholas Kristof, columnist for the New York Times

“So funny you...


Marketing Plan

For media/publicity information please contact:

Julie Nathanson, Rogers & Cowan, jnathanson@rogersandcowan.com

For media/publicity information please contact:

Julie Nathanson, Rogers & Cowan, jnathanson@rogersandcowan.com


Available Editions

EDITION Hardcover
ISBN 9780988879843
PRICE $25.95 (USD)

Average rating from 33 members


Featured Reviews

A Journey to the Dark Heart of Nameless Unspeakable Evil is the true story of bitter British comedy writer Jane Bussmann’s departure from her job interviewing celebrities in Hollywood, in order to try her hand as a foreign correspondent (and win the heart of peacemaker John Prendergast) in war torn Uganda. This book was originally published in the UK as The Worst Date Ever, and is now being brought over to us in North America under a different title. Amazon says it will be available to purchase on May 13th of this year.

As she says in her book, it’s Bridget Jones’ Diary meets Private Benjamin meets The Devil Wears Prada meets Out of Africa and The Constant Gardner. I’m not going to lie, it’s a weird genre to wrap your head around. I chose to read this book because I was genuinely curious; with all the initial reviews describing its hilarity, I couldn’t imagine how one could report on Kony and the disgusting atrocities facing Uganda right now, and be funny about it.

While I will admit that yes, I did laugh out loud a few times, it was really only at the beginning of the novel when the author’s focus is on poking fun at celebrities and Hollywood. Even then the laughs were limited as whenever I hear someone whine and complain about an opportunity they should be grateful for, I can’t help but tune them out. After she reaches Uganda I didn’t really laugh at all. Even during the breaks where she wasn’t interviewing abandoned children or rape victims and was instead trying to make light of a lack of toilet paper or her maxed out credit cards, I couldn’t really find the humor. How could I laugh at her complaining about a temporary living situation in a war-torn country, when at the end of it all she is able to hop a British Airways flight home and escape it, leaving behind the people that are forced to live like that without a way out? Cognitive dissonance apparently. It made me feel a little sick to be honest.

I commend Jane Bussmann for wanting to make a difference, and shining a light on several challenges Uganda is trying to overcome in a way that makes it more approachable for the layman than the often heavy and micro-focused articles featured in political publications. Perhaps it is because I am already fairly familiar with Ugandan atrocities that I couldn’t find the humor in this novel, but if you’re still really in the dark about Joseph Kony and the LRA then perhaps this is actually a good way to begin your learning. I think the most upsetting thing about this book is that its British counterpart was originally published in 2009. Here we are five years later and the situation in Uganda has changed so little that the author didn’t need to adjust it at all before its North American publication.

While I would have to say I disliked it, I would still recommend it for someone who knows nothing about the current situation in Uganda.

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Jane is amazing! Fantastic book. Read this(actually CONSUMED it)overnight. I love how we are dragged through uncomfortable situations and events, emerging from the fray a better person. Way to make us evolve! Should be required reading for ALL political science students. Seriously.
This is a subject I have been trying to follow and dig into but the information is so spotty and we never know what is the real truth is. Thank you X1 million for shedding a much-needed light on this subject! You have brass ovaries girl and I am thrilled you are using balls-out humor to expose injustice! You are truly fit definition of a SUPERHERO!!
I will be using this book during my entrepreneur seminars.
I will be using you as an example that "ladies" can cuss a blue streak and still be professional, kick-ass and be "feminine". Heroines, all of us...Women rock!
I will be buying this book for many of my friends who have lost faith in truth, justice and humanity. We all CAN do something if we try. Bravo!

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Very funny and witty but also thought-provoking. Think I would have benefitted from wider-reading however.

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This is the story of how a jaded, bitter British comedy/entertainment writer in Hollywood failed to sell her screenplays and ended up reporting on the barbaric Joseph Kony in Uganda. That seems like screenplay enough, but Bassmann decorates it with jaundiced observations, cultural (American and British) allusions, and plenty of sarcasm. And oh yes, it’s massively funny.

She accurately portrays the entertainment industry as the Golden Age of Stupid in Hollywood, governed by every breath from Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears. Where institutional memory is non existent and “you’re a genius in Hollywood for borrowing ideas from before 1990”. Her perspective is always jaded. She describes a hotel as “one of those mausoleum business hotels where the staff flirt in order to stave off suicide.” She had my undivided attention.

After the whirlwind, lacerating opening in Hollywood, I did not expect the book to have redeeming social value, a point, or a conclusion. But Bassmann sweeps readers along on a trip to Uganda, in total ignorance and for the wrong reasons. It goes from one disaster to another, and it changes her, visibly, mentally, and attitudinally. Jade becomes rage.

Skillfully, Bassmann tones the sarcasm, the brand awareness and the superficiality down to where it fits the horrendous reality of Uganda in the grip of kleptocracy. Cognitive dissonance gives way to revelations of truth. Her discoveries are our discoveries, her experiences our experiences, her education our education. As the corruption, cruelty and lies take over the story, she comes to her epiphany: “Finally, nothing was funny.” The daily narcissistic lie of Hollywood is pondscum compared to the ocean of corruption that is Uganda.

She comes out of it 1) alive, 2) with some recognition, and 3) with her sense of humor reconstituted. The endnotes are largely superfluous, but there is a glossary for navel-gazing Americans to get the British references. And that’s funny too. This book turns out to be both humorous and worthwhile: a rare bird from a perceptive, driven achiever. Which, ironically, is something she thought she’d never be. Makes it even better.

David Wineberg

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Normally, every book I read reminds me of a couple of others I've read or have heard about. This was not the case with A Journey to the Dark Heart of Nameless Unspeakable Evil. It's hard to describe this book, and I can't imagine which section you would find it in a bookstore. Fortunately, author Jane Bussmann tackles that problem towards the end of the book when she tells of trying to pitch the story as a Hollywood movie. It's "Romancing the Stone meets Bridget Jones's Diary meets Private Benjamin..." With a dash of Out of Africa. And The Constant Gardener. And The Devil Wears Prada.

The book opens with Bussmann interviewing Ashton Kutcher. As a Hollywood journalist, she interviews celebrities and writes gossipy articles about them. Increasingly dissatisfied with the Hollywood scene and her pointless career, she sees an article about a "conflict resolution expert" named John Prendergast. He negotiates with warlords, twists arms in Washington, and does all he can to end war in places like Uganda. Bussmann finds this admirable, and also notices that he is extremely good looking.

She wangles an assignment to interview him and thus begins her transformation from celebrity hack to important foreign correspondent. The transformation is a bit rocky though, and she often finds herself using her celebrity interviewing techniques on warlords, diplomats, and government officials. The result is a combination of reporting on the horrific tragedy that is the war in Uganda interspersed with Bussmann's foul-mouthed and hilarious experiences negotiating war-torn Uganda and trying to sell her story to someone who cares.

It seems like a strange way to tell a story, but I have to hand it to her, it works. There's little chance I would have read a long article about Ugandan atrocities, let alone read a whole book about it. But by the time I realized that's what I was reading, I was hooked. She wrote the book in 2009 under the U.K. title The Worst Date Ever, and is now releasing it in the States under a new title. But nothing has changed in Uganda. I looked at the U.S. State Department's page on Uganda and it's as bad as ever.

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A Journey To The Dark Heart Of Nameless Unspeakable Evil is funny and meaningful.This book is well written and worth the read. I think everyone should read this unique book that will leave an impression on you.

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I had originally became interested in this book when the author did an interview on MSNBC's Morning Joe (a fixture in my morning routine), and was very excited to receive a digital copy from Netgalley for review. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm for the book ends there.

The author of the book, Jane Bussman, is/was a celebrity journalist who develops a crush on well-respected peace activist, John Pendergrast (aka Former Director of African Affairs for the National Security Council). In an attempt to fulfill her crush fantasies, Jane begins a series of plots (reminiscent of hair brained schemes used in I Love Lucy) to arrange to writing a story about John and his work. Finally, she is successful in arranging to follow John around Uganda as he works on peace talks, which is quite a feat considering she has no experience in news media, and even less experience in reading or understating anything about any African nations. Once Jane gets to Uganda, she receives word from John that he will be detained on another project and is unsure when he will be arriving...this leads to the 1/3 of the. Book that I actually enjoyed reading! While "stranded" in Uganda, Jane is able to shed light on tragic circumstances that are not always seen by mainstream media sources since, not being attached to one of these sources, she is privy to unfiltered responses from subjects and able to get information from the local people she is forced to seek help from on everyday matters.

I had difficulty getting through the first half of the book (that is how long it took for Jane to get stranded) and alnost quit several times. The narrative style is a non-stop inner monologue which comes across as flighty and catty. Throughout her time in Uganda, that cattiness is transformed into sarcasm fueled by riteous indignation--a tone which I found interesting to read and highly relatable. If this could have been the narrative tone for the entire book, I feel like it would have been more enjoyable.

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