Go and Come Back [Hardcover]

Joan Abelove (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 1998 | Age Level: 11 and up

Here is a teenage voice you haven't heard--from the Peruvian jungle.

Alicia lives much as her Isabo ancestors have lived for centuries in the Amazon jungle of Peru. She is astonished when "two old white ladies" arrive on the river and announce through their boatman, the girl's mother's brother's wife's brother, that they want to settle in Poincushmana for a time, to study. They are anthropologists (and actually in their twenties), but to Alicia and the others they are stingy, too skinny, sexually naive, and strangers. It is a baby girl (more valuable in the village than a boy!) who helps bridge the gap--a child whom young Alicia adopts to save her from her brutish Peruvian trader father. In the end, the time Alicia, Joanna, and Margarita share is hardly enough. Their story, vividly shown, is unique to its setting. It could happen nowhere else on earth. The author writes in a note: "This is a work of fiction based on real places, experiences, and people in the early 1970s. It is not known whether the actual village or any of those very real people still exist."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

First-time novelist Abelove introduces readers to a sparkling world hidden deep within the Amazonian jungle of Peru, through the eyes of Alicia, an Isabo teenaged girl. There is no word for goodbye in Isabo; when two people part, they say "Catanhue," which means go and come back. Abelove exposes such subtleties of language and cultural differences as she tenuously stretches the lines of communication between the young protagonist and "two old white ladies" from "the New York." Initially, Alicia finds the pair who have come to study her cozy village stingy and wasteful. Laden with possessions, the women share none with the Isabo and suggest they move into any old house no one is using (Alicia reacts, "Whoever heard of a house no one was using?.... It takes a long time and a lot of people to build a house"). But she gradually befriends the two "old ladies" (who are actually in their 20s) and teaches them about her customs, about love and death, and about generosity. With Alicia as a guide, readers experience the everyday pleasures of a good meal or a daily morning dousing in the river as well as her quiet acceptance of life's brevity. Indeed, Alicia's cognizance sounds a foreboding note: the author, who based the novel on her own experience studying such a village, writes in an endnote that whether the village or its people still exist is unknown. Abelove seamlessly constructs a culture that may feel more real to readers than their own, and juxtaposes two markedly diverse cultures who ultimately discover more commonalities than differences. Ages 11-up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up?A young teenage Indian girl narrates this engaging novel that deals with the impact of two American anthropologists who come to live for one year in her Peruvian jungle village. Alicia finds the outsiders interesting, although their ignorance and stinginess is a source of consternation and sometimes amusement. She has other concerns, too?she is supposed to marry her sister's husband, and she rescues and adopts a baby who is at risk from its abusive Peruvian father. By the end of the novel, the baby has died and the two "old ladies" (in their late 20s) are leaving, but both peoples have learned a lot about one another's humanity. The life and customs of the Indians are presented in a matter-of-fact way by Alicia, whether she is telling the strangers that it is important to have sex with several?but not too many?men in order to have strong babies, or that children must learn to lie well. Indian words and phrases flavor her speech. This compelling novel is based on the author's field work in the early 1970s; however, the group is given a fictional name and the information about their customs is anecdotal and never overwhelms the narrative. The spirited heroine evokes Karen Cushman's Catherine, Called Birdy (Clarion, 1994).?Pam Gosner, formerly at Maplewood Memorial Library, NJ
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Hardcover: 177 pages
• Publisher: DK Publishing, Inc.; 4th edition (March 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789424762
• ISBN-13: 978-0789424761
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,770,186 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars See things from a different perspective, September 16, 2001

By 

marared (Southern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Go and Come Back (Paperback)

This excellent book is the story of two American anthropologists who went to live with a tribe in Peru. One of the main characters is a young girl who is trying to raise an adopted baby and becomes friends with the anthropologists. The story shows all of the cultural differences and misunderstandings that arose between the anthropologists and the people of the village because they had different values and ideas about how people should behave. The book does a good job of showing how people of one culture can try to do things that they see as polite and kind and can be perceived by people of a different culture as stingy or mean. It is challenging to readers because it helps them think about what is important to them and how that is expressed in what they do. It helped me see ways that my actions are not really consistent with what I say is important to me. It also gave me a good sense of some of the basic difficulties and joys of living in a different culture.

One caution: if you would be offended by open talk about sex, this book is not for you. It shows a culture in which sex is discussed openly and people tell children more about it than in the U.S.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Different People, Different Cultures, January 10, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Go and Come Back (Paperback)

Go and Come Back is an odd yet moving novel written by Joan Abelove. The book is very well written, captures the reader almost instantly, and has great character development. In the book, a small Indian village in a Peruvian jungle is host to two strange, white women, coming from New York, named Joanna and Margarita. They are anthropologists coming to the Isabo (the Indian tribe) village to do research. Alicia, an indifferent Isabo girl, thinks the women are "stingy and stupid". But later, when she adopts a non-native baby, she begins to understand the women better, and they start to understand her. Later, the anthropologists have to leave, but by then will Alicia be too close to them to bear it? Find out by reading this wonderful book on how two narrow-minded people can suddenly fit in so easily and be liked so much by a totally different kind of people, who have a totally different culture.

Go and Come Back is a book I highly recommend because of the way the author shows how different cultures can be and how ignorant they can be of each other. For instance, when Joanna and Margarita came to the village, they were doing things horribly wrong according to Alicia's customs, such as not sharing all their food to every single person in the village immediately. It is very interesting to see the different cultures mix, and it's even funny! Another reason why this is a good book is because of the character development. Go and Come Back is a 1st person narrative novel "told" by Alicia herself. With any 1st person book (especially this one), it is very easy to see the personalities of the characters when the main character tells the story. You get to know Alicia very well throughout the story, and you can almost feel her own feelings. Those are a few of the reasons why I recommend this book.

One reason why someone might not want to read it was because it can be unclear sometimes. During the story, the author makes some points that are unclear. The reader would know there is a point, but he/she wouldn't know what it is. The metaphors are hard to catch too. Sometimes the reader can't understand what the author is even talking about, but only sometimes. Don't let that stop you, though, from reading this wonderful book, because everyone and everything has some flaws (and that's even one of the points made in the book).

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another point of view, November 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Go and Come Back (Paperback)

As an anthropologist having done fieldwork in another part of Amazonia, I recognized myself in Alicia's descriptions of the awkward, annoying, and funny situations, with two young women trying to get a grip on the culture they want to study. I think anthropologists should read this book to become more honest about the way they gather their "data", initially understanding half of what was said, to say nothing of the context in which it was said. On the other hand, Abelove obviously succeeded in her own fieldwork, understanding and conveying another point of view so well. She writes with care and respect for the two different cultures, with modesty, and with humor. She does NOT standardize the witty characters and does NOT create a native paradise, nor a native hell. I wished more anthropologists would use her human approach in addition to writing academic, "objective" books. It could bring us a wider readership, which in turn could help to create more respect for "the other" in an increasingly hostile and racist world.