Looking for Lovedu: A Woman's Journey Through Africa [Paperback]

Ann Jones (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 9, 2002

The adventure began when a young British photographer, Kevin Muggleton, suggested driving from one end of Africa to the other–“You know, the old ‘Cape to Cairo’ sort of thing.” For the renowned feminist writer Ann Jones, it soon became an expedition with a mission: to find the legendary Lovedu, a tribe ruled by a great rainmaking queen and dedicated to the “feminine” ideals of compromise, cooperation, tolerance, and peace.

Setting out from Tangier in a battered old blue-and-yellow Land Rover, Jones and Muggleton face daunting physical challenges, from shifting sand in the Sahara to deep mud wallows in Zaire. They encounter severe food shortages in Mali, military roadblocks in Nigeria, and corrupt border guards all over. In Mauritania they meet a young girl who offers to give Jones her baby sister. As they pass through the ever-changing face of Africa toward a meeting with the Queen of the Lovedu, Jones is perceptive, funny, moving, astute–everything a good travel writer should be. You’ll feel you’re right there beside her, meeting the people, marveling at the physical beauty of the land, sharing in the grand adventure.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Beautiful writing . . . Riveting [and] often funny.” –Philadelphia Inquirer

“Jones writes with pungent observation and wit.... She is an engaging and venturesome traveling companion, one whose encounters with Africans are touching and surprising.” –The New York Times

“[An] entertaining and enlightening book.”–St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“Jones provides wonderful snapshots of Africa’s history. . . . An exceptionally interesting book.” –Ft. Worth Star-Telegram

From the Inside Flap

The adventure began when a young British photographer, Kevin Muggleton, suggested driving from one end of Africa to the other–"You know, the old ‘Cape to Cairo' sort of thing." For the renowned feminist writer Ann Jones, it soon became an expedition with a mission: to find the legendary Lovedu, a tribe ruled by a great rainmaking queen and dedicated to the "feminine" ideals of compromise, cooperation, tolerance, and peace.

Setting out from Tangier in a battered old blue-and-yellow Land Rover, Jones and Muggleton face daunting physical challenges, from shifting sand in the Sahara to deep mud wallows in Zaire. They encounter severe food shortages in Mali, military roadblocks in Nigeria, and corrupt border guards all over. In Mauritania they meet a young girl who offers to give Jones her baby sister. As they pass through the ever-changing face of Africa toward a meeting with the Queen of the Lovedu, Jones is perceptive, funny, moving, astute–everything a good travel writer should be. You'll feel you're right there beside her, meeting the people, marveling at the physical beauty of the land, sharing in the grand adventure.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (July 9, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375705333
• ISBN-13: 978-0375705335
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,324,832 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AN AFRICAN EXPEDITION, January 9, 2003

By 

S. Calhoun "rhymeswithorange" (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Looking for Lovedu: A Woman's Journey Through Africa (Paperback)

In 1995 Ann Jones and her traveling partner, Kevin Muggleton, set off on an expedition through the African continent. Driving from Tangier to Cape Town, Jones is in search of the mystical Rain Queen of Lovedu, a matriarchal tribe in southern Africa. Jones is equally interested in whether the Lovedu tribe continues to exist and how their feminist values of cooperation, compromise, tolerance, mutual helpfulness and forgiveness coincide with the paternalistic and masculine doctrines she has witnessed throughout Africa.

Along the way Jones is confronted with horrific and dangerous traffic conditions, especially at the beginning of their journey. After conquering the Sahara Desert they drive through land that often didn't have suitable roads, if there were any! They also had to cross rivers without bridges and were forced to make their own rafts. Not only was the physical terrain a challenge but they also had to deal with constant bureaucracy while obtaining visas and paying bribes. Jones had no idea of what would occur at the next bend of the road.

With all that said, LOOKING FOR LOVEDU is an excellent travel narrative that allows the reader to vividly imagine what it must be like to go on an African expedition of their own. Jones does a superb job of intertwining the history of Africa along with her own travel experiences. The effects of colonialism, globalization, tourism, and environmentalism are all explored in an attempt to understand how Africa is sustaining in the current social world. LOOKING FOR LOVEDU is a good book to read if you're interested in both travel and feminism. You may just be enlightened as I was when I finished reading it.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lessons about Africa and relationships, August 10, 2003

By 

S. Brand "sandra807" (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Looking for Lovedu: A Woman's Journey Through Africa (Paperback)

From the beginning, when American writer Ann Jones was preparing for her trans-continental trip across Africa with her young male English traveling partner, Muggleton, she found that she was doing the majority of the work, the organization, the fine details, and the gathering of equipment and supplies. Then for half the journey across Africa, she sarcastically joked and complained about Muggleton's travel philosophy and maniacal driving style. He irrationallly drove across miles of desert, rejecting the safety of joining a caravan, bumped and ground over roadless terrain, slogged through mud and nearly fell off rickety bridges. He refused to let Ann do the driving... she was too slow and careful. He got into yelling matches with gun-toting border officials, and raced wildly away from a car he had hit, whose passengers hollered and threatened. Ann wanted to stop and talk with people and see the sights and learn more about the cultures and lifestyles, but it all whizzed by as Muggleton was determined to make this a trip of challenging the awful driving conditions. For the half of the trip in which Muggleton is her companion, the book focuses on this sour relationship, and bits of history and politics about each country they pass through. I really appreciated learning things about these African countries that I had never been aware of. My finger trailed along the included map of the journey, and helped me learn where these countries are located.

Muggleton and Ann parted company halfway through the trip, and although Ann's tongue-in-cheek complaints about him were quite funny at times, I wondered what Muggleton thought about the book when he read it. But, I felt relief along with Ann, that at last she could take time to really see the land she was driving through. In Nairobi, an Englishwoman and a Kenyan woman joined her for the remainder of the trip to find the queen of Lovedu, a legendary female ruler in a land of male domination. During this part of the journey, we learn more details about the lands and people, but Ann also reflects on the role of African women, their lack of power and freedom. There's an ironic comparison to Ann's own lack of freedom in determining the course of the journey when she was with her male partner. He had made all the decisions and ignored her wishes, though she was a supposedly equal partner of Western values.

There are all kinds of travelogues, and Ann's is as unique and entertaining as any of them. There are interesting tidbits throughout the book about the people and the sights. In spite of her complaints about Muggleton and the incredible hardship of that part of the journey, which convinced me NEVER to attempt such a thing, the harrowing difficulties they had were also entertaining. One of my favorite parts is when Ann describes the campground the three women had on the shores of a lake, when looking at it from a distance, the women notice that everything is blue... the three round tents, the bathing suits, the pajamas, the car. Traveling companion Caro says, "It looks like the car gave birth."

In spite of the succint comments about the lands they drove through, I learned a lot about Africa, and have a better idea about its people, politics, history, and land. The book was well worth reading.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From A Women's Point of View..., October 13, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Looking for Lovedu: A Woman's Journey Through Africa (Paperback)

I absolutely loved this book! It was wonderfully written and I enjoyed seeing the journey through the eyes of a woman, especially how she compares what she wants to do and how he does it. The story is a great guide into the many African cultures and the male-dominated aspects that set Lovedu apart from the rest! I highly recommend it!