The Ear, the Eye and the Arm

A 1995 Newbery Honor Book, The Ear, the Eye and the Arm is a novel by Nancy Farmer set in Zimbabwe 200 years in the future.

Tendai and his siblings Rita and Kuda have lived a sheltered life and have a strained relationship with their father, the renowned General Matsika. Thus, with the aid of their caretaker, the Mellower, they sneak out of the house...and into a whole lot of trouble, getting themselves kidnapped. Meanwhile, the Matsika parents are frantic with worry, so the Mellower suggests hiring some detectives he has heard of - the eponymous Ear, Eye, and Arm. As the Matsika children struggle to survive, the detectives race to find them before it's too late.

Most notable for its heavy exploration of African myths and traditions, something that normally never appears in Western fiction.


 * All Myths Are True: The ancient African myths are very real and drive a lot of the story.
 * Ancient Africa: Resthaven. In the middle of the futuristic Zimbabwe, this is a sacred country where the old ways are preserved - "the spiritual heart of Africa." Even airplanes aren't allowed to fly overhead, and the people who live inside of it have only the vaguest notion of the outside world - most of them.
 * And I Must Scream:
 * Blessed with Suck: Arm's telepathy grows in strength as the book progresses, making him more sensitive to what other people are feeling nearby, and thus making it harder for him to function around other people.
 * Coming of Age Story: For Tendai.
 * Disproportionate Retribution: When Rita steals some food while the siblings are in Resthaven, guess what her punishment is? Ouch.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Rita, when she wants to be. It gets her into trouble a lot.
 * Decade Dissonance: In 2194 there is Resthaven, which is an independent country with people who live their life in the Good Old Ways.
 * Eldritch Abomination:
 * Fish Out of Water: Tendai and his siblings, having no clue how to adapt to life outside their house.
 * Flying Car: It's the future, folks. Flying vehicles are everywhere.
 * Frickin' Laser Beams: Laser guns are illegal weapons in the future, used solely by criminals. In a subversion of most fictional lasers, a character actually does get temporarily blinded by looking at one.
 * Future Food Is Artificial: An algae described as "pond scum" which is "pressed into the shape of hot dogs, etc."
 * Good Old Ways: Inverted and somewhat played straight with Resthaven. It's a natural preserve of pristine beauty, and it's a very good place to live - if you're a man. If you're a girl, you can look forward to polygamy and drudgery for the rest of your life, and
 * Heel Face Turn:
 * Hive Mind: The mutant inhabitants of Dead Man's Vlei are hinted to be this. They don't like outsiders.
 * Humans Are White: Averted. There are three distinct ethnic groups -- Black, Brown, and White. Most of the characters belong to Black and Brown, but the Mellower, Knife, and one of title three are White.
 * Infant Immortality
 * Lightning Gun: The Soul Stealers
 * Ludd Was Right: This is one of the main viewpoints of the residents of Resthaven.
 * Man Child: Trashman is an example of this. Kuda is the only one who can (supposedly) understand him.
 * And the Mellower has elements of this, too.
 * Maniac Monkeys: The Blue Monkey, a genetically engineered Talking Animal. He's a jerk.
 * My Beloved Smother:
 * Neo Africa: The book's setting.
 * Noble Savage: Resthaven again, deconstructed. . See Good Old Ways.
 * Religion of Evil: The Masks.
 * Psychic Powers: Arm.
 * Shown Their Work: The depictions of African traditional culture and mythology are very thorough.
 * Spanner in the Works: The Masks did not count on.
 * Stepford Smiler:
 * Stock Yuck: Parsnips, apparently.
 * Super Senses: Eye and Ear each have one super sense. Go on, guess what they are.
 * Theme Naming: This trope feels the love. The eponymous detectives, the Mellower, the She-Elephant, Knife and Fist, Trashman...
 * Trash of the Titans: The Dead Man's Vlei- an abandoned toxic waste dump- is spacious enough to house an entire colony of scavengers, and so deep that slaves mine for salvage.
 * "Well Done, Son" Guy: General Matsika starts out as part of this for all his children (especially with Tendai). As you might guess, it doesn't work out very well for him.
 * Where Are They Now? Epilogue: Touches on all the characters, even the minor ones.