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A review by msmouse
Walking Home by Eric Walters
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. It was incredibly refreshing to read a YA book not set in America. For those looking for diversity in YA this book is for you. Set in Kenya and centring on an African experience, I don’t think a single white person appears in the whole story (rather logically). That is not to say it lacks diversity. One of the greatest things about this book is how it explores the differences and similarities between the different tribes within Kenya. I loved the insider look at how it might feel for someone to be part of a tribe and have to navigate interactions with other, not always friendly, tribes while still all being citizens of the same country.
The book opens in a refugee camp after politics spark inter-tribal warfare and a massacre that killed most of the protagonist’s family. Muchoki is in a seemingly uncommon position in that his mother is from one tribe and his father from another. Luckily both tribes landed on the same side during the conflict, but that is only one of the hurdles aside. Raised in his father’s tribe and speaking their dialect, he is only passingly familiar with his mother’s culture and has never met her estranged family. Yet after losing all his relatives on his father’s side he has no choice but to try to connect with his maternal grandparents, who are unaware that he and his sister even exist.
Unfortunately there is no money for the cross-country trip and staying in camp is no longer possible. Left with no options, Muchoki decides to walk hundreds of kilometres to a place he has never been and which most people whom he asks have never even heard of, to introduce himself to family who are from a different culture and who may not be welcoming. In order to even get there he must first pass through rough terrain complete with lions and possible enemy tribesmen who may want to kill him on sight as well as through burning cities full of rioters, mobs, thieves, and combative police all of this with his seven-year-old sister in tow. It is just as adventurous as it sounds. I cannot imagine accomplishing such a trek so it gives an extra level of realism to know that Walters did this exact trip (albeit hopefully with less adventure) as part of his writing research.
Walking Home is more than just an adventure novel though. It’s as much about deciding how to handle loss and conflict and about the kindness of strangers as it is about survival. Muchoki has to decide where he stands on the inter-tribal conflict that has cost him so much. Would he hurt the people who killed his family if he had the chance? Should he ever trust someone from an ‘enemy’ tribe? Why do bad things happen to good people? Underlying his personal struggles with these questions is the larger one of how a country puts itself back together after racial and political strife rips it apart.
While it is set half a world away and there is no way Walters could have known as he was writing it, I found it strangely fitting that this book should come out just after the situation in Ferguson highlighted how cultural and racial lines can divide a community. I think that the issues this book addresses are much more universal than they may at first appear.
I loved Muchoki’s relationship with his sister, Jata. Her presence gives him an impressive focus and drive. It’s not just his future he is striving for, it’s also hers. I also appreciated how the different culture(s) were presented not only in the various characters from different tribes, but also just in the dialogue. While everything is in English except for select terms (which are fully explained and defined), the speech patterns are not at all like you’d see them in the West. It’s not written in dialect, but you can hear the difference in the sentence structures and also in how people address each other such as the respectful addressing of older people. It certainly gave the work an immersive feel that I relished.
I think most people could get something good from this book, but I particularly recommend it for people who love adventure, Africa, travel, or different cultures. I know it's going on my wishlist.
I received a copy of this work from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
The book opens in a refugee camp after politics spark inter-tribal warfare and a massacre that killed most of the protagonist’s family. Muchoki is in a seemingly uncommon position in that his mother is from one tribe and his father from another. Luckily both tribes landed on the same side during the conflict, but that is only one of the hurdles aside. Raised in his father’s tribe and speaking their dialect, he is only passingly familiar with his mother’s culture and has never met her estranged family. Yet after losing all his relatives on his father’s side he has no choice but to try to connect with his maternal grandparents, who are unaware that he and his sister even exist.
Unfortunately there is no money for the cross-country trip and staying in camp is no longer possible. Left with no options, Muchoki decides to walk hundreds of kilometres to a place he has never been and which most people whom he asks have never even heard of, to introduce himself to family who are from a different culture and who may not be welcoming. In order to even get there he must first pass through rough terrain complete with lions and possible enemy tribesmen who may want to kill him on sight as well as through burning cities full of rioters, mobs, thieves, and combative police all of this with his seven-year-old sister in tow. It is just as adventurous as it sounds. I cannot imagine accomplishing such a trek so it gives an extra level of realism to know that Walters did this exact trip (albeit hopefully with less adventure) as part of his writing research.
Walking Home is more than just an adventure novel though. It’s as much about deciding how to handle loss and conflict and about the kindness of strangers as it is about survival. Muchoki has to decide where he stands on the inter-tribal conflict that has cost him so much. Would he hurt the people who killed his family if he had the chance? Should he ever trust someone from an ‘enemy’ tribe? Why do bad things happen to good people? Underlying his personal struggles with these questions is the larger one of how a country puts itself back together after racial and political strife rips it apart.
While it is set half a world away and there is no way Walters could have known as he was writing it, I found it strangely fitting that this book should come out just after the situation in Ferguson highlighted how cultural and racial lines can divide a community. I think that the issues this book addresses are much more universal than they may at first appear.
I loved Muchoki’s relationship with his sister, Jata. Her presence gives him an impressive focus and drive. It’s not just his future he is striving for, it’s also hers. I also appreciated how the different culture(s) were presented not only in the various characters from different tribes, but also just in the dialogue. While everything is in English except for select terms (which are fully explained and defined), the speech patterns are not at all like you’d see them in the West. It’s not written in dialect, but you can hear the difference in the sentence structures and also in how people address each other such as the respectful addressing of older people. It certainly gave the work an immersive feel that I relished.
I think most people could get something good from this book, but I particularly recommend it for people who love adventure, Africa, travel, or different cultures. I know it's going on my wishlist.
I received a copy of this work from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.