Customer Reviews

The Camel Bookmobile: A Novel

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book succeeds on many different levels. The storyline is intriguing (imagine books being carried by camel to remote villages in Kenya), there's romance and disappointment, questions on different values in nations and whether its good for one nation to impose its values on another (you'll be thinking about that one for a while),a little mystery and a heroine who means well but manages to learn even while she's trying to educate others.

There really is a camel bookmobile and to read more about it and see photographs, google Camel Book Drive.

This is an exceptional book.

This is such a lyrical and moving story about the power of books to transform one's life. Fiona Sweeney's efforts in bringing enlightenment and knowledge into the lives of people in the African bush is a story that is poetically beautiful and rings true. I myself remember the bookmobile that used to be the highlight of my young life back in Malaysia. There was a dearth of English books in the school library and to me, the bookmobile represented a window to a wonderful world full of possibilities. Masha Hamilton's book brings back those fond memories for me, and it is a joy to read how books still have the power to transport people, even in the most remote regions of the world, to a whole new world filled with infinite possibilities.

The Camel Bookmobile is the kind of novel that made me love reading in the first place. Fiona Sweeney travels from New York City to Africa to bring books on camels to villages that follow the rains. In this world, books are as threatening as they are liberating, and their mere presence causes a variety of personal reactions in the people the bookmobile "serves." Fi is drawn into these intrigues in little Mididima when she goes to help resolve a crisis over some missing books. The villagers are no blank slates waiting for the miracle of books -- she rides into a hotbed of desire, disappointment, genius, loss, and love.

Masha Hamilton's long experience reporting all over the world informs her work; her novels don't serve up tidy endings. Here she acknowledges the mundane reality that things do fall apart, but it is effort and intention that make the meaning of things. Cultures clash in The Camel Bookmobile, good intentions may be misplaced -- or not. Hamilton shows how seeds of change never grow in neat rows; and though the gardener may not be present at the harvest, it doesn't mean it was futile to lay the plants.

This book is inspired by the Camel Bookmobile Project in Kenya. The books are carried on Camels to remote areas in Africa where children have little or no source for books. Fi is a librarian from New York who volunteers for this project. She is looking for an escape, a life very different from her own.

Mididima is one of the villages in Kenya where this bookmobile visits. These are the villagers who have their set ways for years. They worship nature, they think they are cursed if it doesn't rain. They have ancient values and philosophies that have been carried down from generations. Obviously they are not too happy about the bookmobile. They think it will corrupt their childrens minds and show them a world which is above their reach, it will take away their traditions. But there are also children like Kanika and Scar Boy (who was attacked by a hyena when he was a toddler) who want to experience something different, who want to widen their horizons.

The author brings out the clash between the modern and the traditional world very well. We think the villagers would be thrilled to have an opportunity to read and learn, but we never think it will clash with their believes and culture.

This book has everything I love in a book, an African setting, lovely characters, beautiful writing, but there was something lacking in The Camel Bookmobile. I couldn't really get into the book for whatever reasons. It does get really interesting midway but again it disappoints at the end. There were important threads that were left open. I am okay with open endings but here it felt really abrupt.

Nonetheless, it is a book I would recommend.

I bought this book as a recommendation from a friend as he knew my interests and thought this would be perfect. I wasn't in the least bit disappointed. Hamilton unravels the tale of Fiona Sweeney, a modern librarian from the states, who has a mission and a goal: bringing education to the tribal peoples of Africa.

With multiple twists and turns to the plot that I didn't foresee when I first picked up the book, I was pleasantly surprised. Hamilton's writing is not only beautiful and captivating, but also brings forth a sense of importance. It's a book with awareness and a deep spiritual connection that left me with a 'united' feeling. I was both enamored and amused by the supporting cast, but also left with a feeling of kinship with Fi who has a strong belief in what she does. She's the type of woman who wont go down without a fight, strong but still emotional. She has a certain need to fulfill this mission and even when turned away, she is assertive and determined in her belief.

From the dusky, romantic setting of Africa to the sense of balance in Fi Sweeney's heart, this book was a delight. The awareness of the subject matter is brought into strong focus, yet still maintains a balance of wonderful writing. A true success.

It's been a long time since the characters in a story have continued to live on for me after I've finished the book. This is one of those stories. As a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, I could both identify with Fi Sweeney and ponder the larger questions of what happens when one tries to bring progress to another culture. No easy answers, but lots to think about, long after you've finished reading.

Hamilton's novel is a moving and brilliant exploration of the way literature can bridge cultures, offer hope, and transform lives. Fiona is an American librarian, brimming with good intentions, who travels to Africa to run a camel-powered bookmobile and discovers that good deeds often come with a hefty price tag. What's so amazing about this book is that real life bristles on every page. Hamilton writes gorgeous books--but even better than that, she writes important ones.

This is a really beautiful story with a poignant ending. I felt, along with Fi, the great loss of something when she returned to an uprooted Mididima. That ending was such a surprise. The plot had so many of the earmarks of a traditional Western love story--The Teacher and the American have a clear path to true love, the way to real transformation opens for Scar Boy and Kanika, Neema and other elders see the younger generation evolve in ways that will improve their community's quality of life going forth--but then everything is turned on its head. Fi was, for me, a vessel in which my own naivete was carried toward a semblence of enlightenment. Fi and Matani each hold their own wisdom, and through their relationship I, as reader, was able to see both points of view as valid. The dialogue throughout is stunning: so much history and tradition represented in such sparse language. I especially like the idea that the land is a living entity that gives as well as takes. The fact that Matani, educated though he is, does not reject the old superstitions or the old methods of discipline, says something profound about this ancient culture as well as our own. Finally, the imagery throughout is so beautiful, and that final snapshot of Fi standing in the spot that so recently was so tangible but had become a mere memory is breathtaking. (The understated departure, with acceptance rather than mourning, was perfect). I love the resonance of the graffiti phrase, "I was here." I could say so much more (the mosquito passages, the seemless shifting of points of view, the contradictory relationship Jwahir has with modern versus traditional, and so forth), about all I admired in the novel.

This book succeeds on a variety of levels. It is first of all enjoyable fiction. The factual quotes before chapters lend a bleak reality to the stark conditions of the environment wherein the story transpires. It is, however, the richness of the characterization that makes the novel soar. Each character sings in a proud triumphant voice, as the bookmobile enters, leaves and then returns to the complexity of African life.

This book is a very thought provoking tale of a young American woman wanting to affect a change in the literacy in Africa.

Very descriptive prose of the African landscape, traditions and myths. The characters of Ms. Sweeney, the American, Mantani the schoolmaster, Kanika an intelligent, literate young woman, etc are fairly well developed. There are interesting relationships to explore and unexpected realities exposed about the contrast of Western and African views on literacy, i.e. whether it even helps or hinders small tribes trying to survive in this harsh environment.

I think that this would be a good book club book with lots to talk about. It kept me interested throughout however the ending fell short of my expectations. It was inevitable but I would have liked more in depth discussion of the tribe's disappearance. Also the depth of emotion described earlier in the novel regarding Ki's relationships make it hard to believe that within a few hours time she would be willing to move on.

All in all a very good book.