Mention Books In Pursuance Of Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of an African Village
| Original Title: | Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of an African Village |
| ISBN: | 0805073817 (ISBN13: 9780805073812) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Sarah Erdman
Hardcover | Pages: 322 pages Rating: 3.86 | 1722 Users | 158 Reviews
Narration To Books Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of an African Village
A portrait of a resilient African village, ruled until recently by magic and tradition, now facing modern problems and responding, often triumphantly, to changeWhen Sarah Erdman, a Peace Corps volunteer, arrived in Nambonkaha, she became the first Caucasian to venture there since the French colonialists. But even though she was thousands of miles away from the United States, completely on her own in this tiny village in the West African nation of Cote d'Ivoire, she did not feel like a stranger for long.
As her vivid narrative unfolds, Erdman draws us into the changing world of the village that became her home. Here is a place where electricity is expected but never arrives, where sorcerers still conjure magic, where the tok-tok sound of women grinding corn with pestles rings out in the mornings like church bells. Rare rains provoke bathing in the streets and the most coveted fashion trend is fabric with illustrations of Western cell phones. Yet Nambonkaha is also a place where AIDS threatens and poverty is constant, where women suffer the indignities of patriarchal customs, where children work like adults while still managing to dream.
Lyrical and topical, Erdman's beautiful debut captures the astonishing spirit of an unforgettable community.
Particularize Epithetical Books Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of an African Village
| Title | : | Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of an African Village |
| Author | : | Sarah Erdman |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 322 pages |
| Published | : | September 3rd 2003 by Henry Holt & Company (first published August 28th 2003) |
| Categories | : | Cultural. Africa. Nonfiction. Travel. Autobiography. Memoir. Western Africa. Ivory Coast. Biography Memoir |
Rating Epithetical Books Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of an African Village
Ratings: 3.86 From 1722 Users | 158 ReviewsCriticism Epithetical Books Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of an African Village
I loved this memoir! I felt transported to the northern Ivory coast of Africa. Sara Erdman, a young Peace Corp volunteer is assigned to the market village of Nambonkha. The rarity of this woman's work however is that instead of trying to force her Western ways onto the villagers, she takes time to find her niche among the people and become accepted.Slowly, with the help from the local male nurse, Sideb and his wife Abi, are introduced to basic health care and uses the villager's own traditionsI really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read, easy to read on the bus (it easily breaks down into short stories, in fact I think that one of the chapters has been published in some of the Peace Corps propaganda that I have gotten), and very uplifting for someone like me who is (tantalizingly) "almost" in the Peace Corps. As a modern memoir I found this narrative good, although it sometimes lacks focus and direction. It also begins and ends rather in a rather unsatisfactory manor. I would like
A beautiful and vivid look at life in a small, impoverished african village and their struggle to eek out a meagre living, raise and feed their children and themselves, and survive in an environment that seems to want the exact opposite for them.The author, through her words, creates a touching portrait that captures the inherent helplessness, fatalism, and life's utter unfairness while bringing out the humanity behind hopelessness, the despair behind despondence, the personalities behind the
I feel very conflicted about Sarah Erdman's _Nine Hills to Nambonkaha_. Life is a little *too* perfect for the starry-eyed narrator - her integration is almost immediate, barriers (language, cultural and otherwise) are minor, and her projects succeed with only the tiniest of flaws. She was either the poster-child for Peace Corps Volunteers, or she is prone to slightly embellishing. At times, I can share her sentiments and at other times I feel uneasy by her subdued, but nevertheless
Sometimes I'm sorely disappointed when I read a Peace Corps memoir because it is all about the person and includes little to no information about the place and people they volunteered with. This one is vastly different from that. Erdman tells little of herself but instead opens up the village of Nambonkaha to you and introduces you to some of its people.Erdman is selected to be a health worker in the village of Nambonkaha as her Peace Corps assignment. For two years, she will work to bring
This book took longer to read than I was expecting and I have been puzzled as to why. It seemed every time I read a chapter that I would look back and realize I hadn't made much progress overall. Finally I realized that the reader sinks into the stories and the world of Nambonkaha gradually, the way the author was absorbed into village life and became a part of them. I admire her dedication to her Peace Corps work and found myself envying her somewhat the ability to go and reinvent herself and
I loved this memoir! I felt transported to the northern Ivory coast of Africa. Sara Erdman, a young Peace Corp volunteer is assigned to the market village of Nambonkha. The rarity of this woman's work however is that instead of trying to force her Western ways onto the villagers, she takes time to find her niche among the people and become accepted.Slowly, with the help from the local male nurse, Sideb and his wife Abi, are introduced to basic health care and uses the villager's own traditions
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