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book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
Fiona Sweeney is a librarian who accepts a job with a charitable foundation to bring books to remote villages in Africa, promoting literacy among the tiny, far-flung communities of northeastern Kenya. These settlements are impoverished, lacking roads or schools, and the people’s lives are steeped in tradition and superstition. Because the donated books are limited in number and the settlements are many, the library has initiated a tough fine: if anyone fails to return a book, the bookmobile will stop coming.
Talk about a clash of cultures! What use is reading Tom Sawyer, or a how-to book on raising children to these people? They don’t understand the references, can’t imagine why someone would paint a fence, and have no place to buy ANY formula (let alone a variety of formulas). These are the arguments that the local African officials make, trying to dissuade Fiona from persisting in taking the caravan of camels to the villages. And yet, the reality is that there are stories that inspire and pique interest. Some of the residents see good in learning to read and dream of going to the city to further their education. Of course, others are certain that the drought is a punishment for their reaching beyond their borders, or allowing the bookmobile to come to them in the first place.
That clash of cultures was what was most interesting to me in the book. But Hamilton also includes a couple of relationships that become somewhat entangled in the story. This took the book in a direction I wasn’t expecting and found somewhat dissatisfying.
Talk about a clash of cultures! What use is reading Tom Sawyer, or a how-to book on raising children to these people? They don’t understand the references, can’t imagine why someone would paint a fence, and have no place to buy ANY formula (let alone a variety of formulas). These are the arguments that the local African officials make, trying to dissuade Fiona from persisting in taking the caravan of camels to the villages. And yet, the reality is that there are stories that inspire and pique interest. Some of the residents see good in learning to read and dream of going to the city to further their education. Of course, others are certain that the drought is a punishment for their reaching beyond their borders, or allowing the bookmobile to come to them in the first place.
That clash of cultures was what was most interesting to me in the book. But Hamilton also includes a couple of relationships that become somewhat entangled in the story. This took the book in a direction I wasn’t expecting and found somewhat dissatisfying.
alidottie's review against another edition
3.0
I had high hopes for this book based on a real program for bringing books on camelback to African villages. The story was very different than I imagined and not necessarily in a bad way. It just did not appeal to me and left me wanting to know the future of the town (the people) that were the focus of the story. So maybe it's at least a 3 and a half!
angelamichelle's review against another edition
2.0
An interesting little story of a librarian in the Nigerian desert.
undercoverreads's review against another edition
3.0
This book was refreshingly different. It centres around the population of a tribe of people living in Mididima in Kenya. Fi visits the tribe on her trip to issue and collect books as part of the travelling library. While staying with the tribe we get a glimpse into the lives, loves, relationships and culture of the people of Mididima. Beautifully written, would actually rate it a three and a half. Won't be everyone's cup of tea, but won't disappoint readers who enjoy something different and original. Easy reading that moves at a adequate pace.
megangraff's review against another edition
3.0
A light read and I think there were some inaccuracies (men fetching water for example) but I'm moving to East Africa in August so I liked the Swahili words and descriptions of the landscape and people.
rampaginglibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
Fiona Sweeney, the American librarian, in The Camel Bookmobile believes that books offer "vicarious tastes of infinite variety," and it is those vicarious tastes that she would like to bring to the plains of Africa with her. The author, Masha Hamilton, also does an excellent task of bringing some of those tastes to this single novel. The novel is told from the perspective of a number of different people: Scar Boy (a boy scarred by a hyena at the age of three); his father the drum maker; the American librarian; an African librarian who administers the library that sends the books to the villages; a teacher of the African village of Mididima; his wife; a girl of the village who longs for the wider world; and her grandmother. Hamilton does a deft job of giving each of these people their own, unique voice.
The people of Mididima speak in metaphor and simile~metaphor and simile that tastes of a connection with the earth. When Hamilton describes the drumming, singing, and dancing that the men perform each night within the kilinge, i was taken back to one of the best New Year's Eves i ever had. My drummer boyfriend and i went over to another musician's house where we all had drums of one type or another and we spent hours in a drum circle creating our own rhythms, music, and worlds with just the beats of drums. I drummed (for the first and only time) even though my hands and body grew tired and ached. And within that circle i imagined the history and future of life the universe and everything. It was like a wonderful trip without the aid of hallucinogenic drugs.
The teacher, educated in Nairobi, like his father, but still a son of the land understands the vaporous nature and imprecision of words. As an interesting corollary to the Western world the Mididimans see the bible as containing interesting stories while believing in the truth of their own "mythology". They understand the world as being under the dominion of the "hundred legged one" (derived from the rays of the sun).
The African librarian, Mr. Abasi, was educated in London and chose his profession because he wished to do as little work as possible (what a coincidence, that's exactly why i became a librarian, NOT). He speaks with derision of the semi-nomadic people of the Kenyan plains.
Fiona is idealistic and has dreams of bringing literacy and hope to people who have none, people who see cities where their boys will become street-sweepers and their girls will become street-sleepers.
Fiona's ambitions seem to be failing when "Scar Boy" either loses or refuses to return two of the books he has borrowed which threatens to halt the visits of the camel bookmobile. Some people of the village do not want the visits to continue though they do not wish to be dishonored through failing an agreement.
The life of mosquitoes and their habits seem to figure prominent in this story. Quotes from various entomologist studies and other thoughts about these insects who have feasted on dinosaur blood to those who inhabit the planet today open each section of the book. In this manner their brief lives parallel those living in the arid bushlands of Kenya. Ultimately this is an evocative, haunting, and enduring tale of the clash between cultures which many never be resolved. The voices of the book stay with you long after you have closed it.
The people of Mididima speak in metaphor and simile~metaphor and simile that tastes of a connection with the earth. When Hamilton describes the drumming, singing, and dancing that the men perform each night within the kilinge, i was taken back to one of the best New Year's Eves i ever had. My drummer boyfriend and i went over to another musician's house where we all had drums of one type or another and we spent hours in a drum circle creating our own rhythms, music, and worlds with just the beats of drums. I drummed (for the first and only time) even though my hands and body grew tired and ached. And within that circle i imagined the history and future of life the universe and everything. It was like a wonderful trip without the aid of hallucinogenic drugs.
The teacher, educated in Nairobi, like his father, but still a son of the land understands the vaporous nature and imprecision of words. As an interesting corollary to the Western world the Mididimans see the bible as containing interesting stories while believing in the truth of their own "mythology". They understand the world as being under the dominion of the "hundred legged one" (derived from the rays of the sun).
The African librarian, Mr. Abasi, was educated in London and chose his profession because he wished to do as little work as possible (what a coincidence, that's exactly why i became a librarian, NOT). He speaks with derision of the semi-nomadic people of the Kenyan plains.
Fiona is idealistic and has dreams of bringing literacy and hope to people who have none, people who see cities where their boys will become street-sweepers and their girls will become street-sleepers.
Fiona's ambitions seem to be failing when "Scar Boy" either loses or refuses to return two of the books he has borrowed which threatens to halt the visits of the camel bookmobile. Some people of the village do not want the visits to continue though they do not wish to be dishonored through failing an agreement.
The life of mosquitoes and their habits seem to figure prominent in this story. Quotes from various entomologist studies and other thoughts about these insects who have feasted on dinosaur blood to those who inhabit the planet today open each section of the book. In this manner their brief lives parallel those living in the arid bushlands of Kenya. Ultimately this is an evocative, haunting, and enduring tale of the clash between cultures which many never be resolved. The voices of the book stay with you long after you have closed it.
wrentheblurry's review against another edition
4.0
I found this in my to-read pile, started it, became overwhelmed with deja vu, and remembered that I had read it before. I can't remember when, or the details of the story, but I recall that I liked it!
theaceofpages's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I'm not quite sure how to feel about them. I was intrigued by the concept of a mobile library and its impacts but it wasn't quite what I was hoping for. I think a large part of this was the inclusion of the American librarian since it gave a bit of a white saviour feel to the book, which I didn't enjoy all that much. I think it would maybe have been stronger had it been written by a local about a local librarian running such a project. There were maybe also a few too many perspectives for the length of the book, meaning the characters could have been more fleshed out.
tea_tales_tomes's review against another edition
2.0
Have you ever gotten so angry after reading a book that you wanted to 1) throw it out of a moving car 2) tear all the pages into itsy bitsy pieces or 3) make a effigy of the author with the pages of the book and burn it. Okay, the Camel Bookmobile was not terrible. The writing wasn't bad. The characters weren't off-putting. The story wasn't unpleasant. And yet it made me so angry! That's because it could have been so much more! I picked up this book at a second hand bookstore while on holiday and it held so much of promise. A book about a American librarian travelling to remotest Africa to bring literature to nomadic tribes. It seems magic! It could have taken us on a journey of what it is like to read a book for the first time. It could have been about the experience of children learning to read or even understanding what books are. It could gone deeper and explored the idea of what rural communities can teach the 'western' world i.e., the importance of traditional knowledge systems. It could have asked the question of whether books and written stories have resulted in the loss of powerful memories that would have existed had we favoured oral story telling instead. This book fell flat on all accounts. The characters were half baked and never reached their full potential (a lazy author perhaps?). The story started to revolved around a contrived romance between the American and the African and all the depth went flying out the window. The most interesting characters were tangential and ended up only sneaking their heads into the story to make way for said contrived romance. The ending felt as though someone told the author that she needs to end with a bang so she decided that a 'bang' meant flatten out all the life from the story.
Flat. That's the one word I would use to describe this book. Disappointing, unfulfilling, contrived, and amateurish, are a few other words.
Also, can someone please tell me what was the deal with all the mosquito references? These were scattered throughout the book, at the beginning of every chapter... but it didn't tie in to the story (even if I stretched my metaphorical and figurative muscles to their max). FYI... I'm from Africa and mosquitoes are not the defining characteristic of this continent.
Flat. That's the one word I would use to describe this book. Disappointing, unfulfilling, contrived, and amateurish, are a few other words.
Also, can someone please tell me what was the deal with all the mosquito references? These were scattered throughout the book, at the beginning of every chapter... but it didn't tie in to the story (even if I stretched my metaphorical and figurative muscles to their max). FYI... I'm from Africa and mosquitoes are not the defining characteristic of this continent.
lizaroo71's review against another edition
3.0
fiona sweeney is thirty-six years old and longs to change the world. or play some small role in changing someone's life. thus she decides to take a librarian position in kenya africa. she travels to remote villages by camelback and delivers books to the tribes people there. she is particularly moved by a small tribe in mididima. she becomes wrapped up in the superstitions, traditions and cultural differences of the tribe when two books turn up missing. the camels will not return with books until the two books are returned. this begins a long journey for several of the characters in the book towards understanding and determining what is right for them. i felt some of the characters' stories could have been better developed, but overall, it was an enjoyable read.