Customer Reviews

Four Corners: One Woman's Solo Journey Into the Heart of Papua New Guinea

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

 

 

Kira Salak's book, FOUR CORNERS, is nothing less than a masterpiece of the travel genre. I checked the book out of our local library on a whim, and was thrilled when Ms. Salak's compelling narrative had me reading late into the night. The description "page turner" is seldomly used to describe a travel book, but Kira's remarkable account of her trip to Papua New Guinea (PNG) had me rivetted. It's a fantastic read, packed with poetric description of the lush yet unforgiving tropical jungle environment, as well as memorable portraits of it's colorful native inhabitants. But that isn't all. The book also provides great insight into the courageous, yet vulnerable and often confused, narrator. FOUR CORNERS is as much an account of Kira's own inner voyage as it is about her memorable trip to PNG.

I came away from the book with the feeling that I had made a new friend in Ms. Salak. I can't wait to see what she creates in the future.

This is an incredible book that kept me engrossed from beginning to end. It reminded me of the thrill of travel, and of the plight of so many indiginous populations. How she managed to finish the trip alive, I will never understand, but I'm glad she came back to write about it!

The only reason that I've given 4 stars instead of 5 is that I found her self-analysis at times a bit tedious. She goes through the same doubts and fears that most people her age experience, and I got a little bored of reading "I had never let anyone close to me," and "After all this travel, I still don't know why I'm here or where I'm going."

Nonetheless, I will be sure to keep an eye out for this author's next book. I heartily recommend this book to those with an adventurous heart!

I found Kira Salaks Four Corners a very good book. I have hardly been able to put it down.The only thing I found disappointing was that there were no pictures except for the cover. It would have been so nice to see these places where she went. I do hope we see another book from Miss Salak soon.

A compulsive traveler to remote and dangerous places, Kira Salak is on a journey of self-discovery. The trouble is, she keeps making the same mistakes. Intent on proving that she, a young, single woman, can go anywhere she pleases, she keeps setting the bar higher.

In Africa, 1992, age 20, she decides to cross war-torn Mozambique on the lawless, mine-riddled road known as the Bone Yard Stretch. Natives and tourists alike point out the dangers, but Salak convinces a reluctant trucker to take her. A former runner with Olympic aspirations, when the inevitable happens Salak manages to escape her captors. "No one knows where I am....If I died here no one would ever know." Guilt stricken, she realizes that her "self-indulgent, foolish trip" has probably cost the lives of the men whose need for money induced them to risk bringing her.

Several years later, Salak is bound for Papua New Guinea with a vague plan to "get from the south to the north of the country via the major rivers." Or, as she explains to a fellow traveler, "Actually, I have no idea what I'm going to be doing. I'm just going to wing it as I go." Again, no one knows where she is and all advice falls on deaf ears. "The only rule I try to follow religiously in life is not to listen to most people." And I suspect the "most" was an editing afterthought.

But Salak grows on you. The child of Ayn Rand fanatics, she struggles to overcome a loveless childhood through self reliance and searches for epiphany through ordeal. And she gets plenty of that, from guides who take her money and strand her in the jungle to hordes of mosquitoes, armies of roaches and plagues of leeches. She nearly repeats her Mozambique experience on a trek to a camp of refugees from Irian Jaya (invaded by Indonesia), suffers serious sunstroke after a harrowing jungle trek, gets lost on land and water and meets an amazing variety of kind and vicious people, native and foreign.

This is a colorful odyssey by a quirky narrator who both exasperates and inspires.

Excellent writing. I picked it up today and read about first 100 pages. I am blown away by the journey of discovery the writer makes. She exposes her soul, engages you in her world, her life. Simply awesome reading. I want more of this kind of writing

Four corners is a tale of a 24 year old woman's journey across Papua New Guinea. Her experience makes for a wonderful read, but she overworks the "finding herself" bit. Despite the self obsessive and all too frequent maudlin tangents, Salak writes in tight prose that grips the reader early in the book and doesn't let go until the second to last chapter (the last chapter is so sappy it brought the entire book from a solid 5 stars to a 4. It nearly morphed the read from high adventure to a "chick" book).

Despite the nearly manic determination it took to make the journey, Salak is quick to acknowledge the help she got from others. There is very little chest thumping and unlike so many other adventure writers, she never claims to have "conquered" the island. Much of the writing is about the nature of the people she comes in contact with and I finished the book feeling like I had been personally touched by the peoples of PNG. I am grateful for her story and ordered a hard bound version to last another reading before passing it on to my daughter.

I began reading this book two days ago and am already more than half way through it. The breadth of experience recounted here by the young Salak is simply amazing and her bravery and willingness to go outside of her comfort zone and explore the world is inspirational. As one of the other reviewers mentioned, this simply should have pictures.

(Memoir) Salak decides to travel across Papula
New Guinea solo and has some amazing and
some frightening adventures. She gives some
good insights into Papua New Guinea, and she
also has some exciting internal discoveries that I
found moving and insightful. She's a great
storyteller: a great and thought-provoking read.

Potentially offensive material: Some language, references to sex

I am leaving for my second trip to Papua New Guinea in little under a week. I found Salak's book to be a great read! I agree with another reviewer that her introspective thoughts became a bit redundant but all in all the book flowed well and was very interesting
I would definately-- and have already-- recommended this to friends.

By the end of this interesting and at times exciting story you feel as if you've been to Papua New Guinea . . . at least enough to know that you don't really want to go. This is more than travel writing, it is a coming of age drama as well. We learn right along with the author the consequences of some of her rather insane ideas while at the same time admiring her courage and independence. She provides us with evidence of what a single young person can accomplish with a healthy ego and a lot of determination. Hopefully her readers will be encouraged to take on new challenges and at the same time exercise a little better judgment in making their choices. My only disappointment with the book was that scant attention was paid to the exotic wildlife for which Papua New Guinea has long been famous.