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joyful24's review against another edition
4.0
interesting! i never loss the sense that this was a work of fiction, based on real life experiences. i felt connected to the "stranger in the village syndrome" the main character lived during his tenure in the remote reaches of subsaharan africa. sounds cheesy. well it is cliche in that way. the shift from a foreigner moving staying in a village to him becoming apart of the community makes it a good story. that's why i gave it four stars. there is something missing. not sure if its that was intentional or not....i think the book nicely failed to play into my preconceived notions of what a person in that situation experiences. i doubt that the peace corps would suggest it as recommended reading for those interested in enlisting, but it probably should be. a fiction view into the fictional life you imagine having as a person from a western industrialized country trying to "help" in a community that could possibly be the antithesis of everything you have ever known...it works. the variances in prose works. the subject matter works. the overall composition works. its a good book.
jenmat1197's review against another edition
3.0
This fictional story (though told as if it was non-fiction) about a man named Jack who is on a mission trip to bring water to the Ivory Coast area of Africa. This is at a time where Christians and Muslims are at war, and the area is very dangerous. Jack - a white man from America - sticks out like a sore thumb right from the beginning, but he quickly becomes loved by the people in his village. He works hard to learn the language and gain the respect of his community.
During his years in the village Jack learns to live on his meager earnings, hunt, and survive the jungle. He lives among those who believe in witchcraft and the power of telling stories. He falls in love with African girls over and over. And in the end, when it is time for him to head home, he is afraid to leave.
This story is my first read of this year that I am just not sure it should have a spot on my shelf. It is a fine story - entertaining for the most part, and I loved some of the stories that were told. I also enjoyed the types of witchcraft that were described, and what a lot of the people in the village believed about white men. It is a little vulgar in areas (quite a bit of sex) but I am a bit of a prude when it comes to that in a book, so it might not bother you. I felt it a little careless on the part of our main character whom I felt should know better. But...who am I to judge.
If you are looking for a Ivory Coast novel in a Read The World challenge (or just for the heck of it), you might want to try this one. I was able to borrow it from my local library's ebook catalog, so no harm done.
During his years in the village Jack learns to live on his meager earnings, hunt, and survive the jungle. He lives among those who believe in witchcraft and the power of telling stories. He falls in love with African girls over and over. And in the end, when it is time for him to head home, he is afraid to leave.
This story is my first read of this year that I am just not sure it should have a spot on my shelf. It is a fine story - entertaining for the most part, and I loved some of the stories that were told. I also enjoyed the types of witchcraft that were described, and what a lot of the people in the village believed about white men. It is a little vulgar in areas (quite a bit of sex) but I am a bit of a prude when it comes to that in a book, so it might not bother you. I felt it a little careless on the part of our main character whom I felt should know better. But...who am I to judge.
If you are looking for a Ivory Coast novel in a Read The World challenge (or just for the heck of it), you might want to try this one. I was able to borrow it from my local library's ebook catalog, so no harm done.
rsaldanha's review against another edition
4.0
Just because Tony is Jason's cousin doesn't mean I'm biased. It's really an excellent book, and will definitely be interesting to anyone who has done volunteer work abroad or considered it.
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