Swimming in the Congo [Paperback]

Margaret Meyers (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In this enjoyable first novel Grace Berggren, the daughter of an agricultural missionary, lives with her parents and sister in the Belgian Congo (now Zaire), where she experiences the curious blend of European Protestantism and African native beliefs. As a seven-year-old, Grace searches the jungle behind her house, hoping to sneak up on the elusive equator her father is always talking about. On the way to boarding school she confronts racism in its uncensored state. When her father contracts jungle fever, Grace barters for a fetish with which she can protect him. The author's flowing prose vividly presents the conflicts and struggles of a complex childhood against an exotic tropical backdrop. The book is thought-provoking and delightful. Highly recommended.?Joanna M. Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Coll. of Continuing Education Lib., Providence
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 261 pages
• Publisher: Milkweed Editions; 1st edition (September 18, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571310061
• ISBN-13: 978-1571310064
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,421,308 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #12 in Books > Travel > Africa > Democratic Republic of Congo

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you liked POISONWOOD BIBLE...., August 30, 2001

By 

Lisa Blum - See all my reviews

This review is from: Swimming in the Congo (Paperback)

... you'll love SWIMMING IN THE CONGO! This is a collection of short stories that reads like a novel. In it, young Grace Birggen, the daughter of an agricultural missionary to the Congo in the 1960's, comes of age along the banks of the Congo River in what is now Zaire. The stories are beautifully written and the descriptions of her childhood in an emerging third-world nation are compelling. It is POISONWOOD without the poison. Yes, there are incidents of imperialism and racism, but those incidents are filtered through Grace's eyes, in much the same way that Scout narrates Boo Radley's and Tom Robinson's stories in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and so will you.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars stunning debut collection of stories, July 30, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Swimming in the Congo (Paperback)

SWIMMING IN THE CONGO is a stunning story cycle about a missionary girl growing up in the Congo. While the collection is not autobiographical, Margaret Meyers, like her protagonist Grace, did spend her childhood in the Congo, and SWIMMING IN THE CONGO is replete with carely-observed and lovingly-rendered details that absolutely convince the reader of its authenticity. But more vivid than the milieu in which it is set are the characters--missionaries, servants, lovers--particularly the narrator who moves in the course of these stories from childhood to adolescence. Funny, poignant, often heartbreakingly beautiful, these stories reveal the life of a woman whose early life was Africa and the Lord God and who now cannot live in an Africa which does not recognize her Africaness nor with the God of her fathers, but who will never escape either. This is the first book of a writer whom we will be reading a long time

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A missionary Congolese childhood, remembered with love, February 19, 2002

By 

Linda Linguvic (New York City) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Swimming in the Congo (Paperback)

Margaret Meyers, the daughter of a missionary family, grew up in The Congo in the 1960s, and this 1995 collection of short stories was part of her later MFA Thesis at the University of Virginia. Through them, she introduces her lead character, Grace, who views the world with the freshness of childhood and shares her experiences with the reader. Her father tells her the equator goes right through their property and, at the age of six, she searches for it as if it would be a clearly marked path. Her favorite pastime is swimming in the river, a river she will miss terribly when she is sent off to boarding school a few years later. Her protestant Christianity is unquestioned and she's always exploring her own spirituality as well as making keen observations about the people around her. There are some memorable characters here, from her loving parents to the native Congolese who laugh at the foibles of the missionary families. There are the two spinster women with a secret, an unhappy former ballerina who has trouble adapting to her life in Africa, and a Frenchman who loves his garden almost as much as he loves his constantly changing women. Through Grace's young eyes we see the cruelty of racism and the stirrings of independence as political changes are happening in the country.

At 261 pages this is a fast and enjoyable read, one that I gobbled up in two sittings, letting myself travel to the lush world of Grace's Congo and view it through her child's eyes. Mainly, it's about the people and she stays away from political analysis. She tells her stories simply and creates an atmosphere, and brings the reader right into her world. If I have any criticism at all, it is that some of the characters appear in just one of the short stories and I wanted to hear more about them as the book went on. But, alas, this is a book of stories, not a novel. I loved this book; it was a small trip into a world that is now gone and which I will never get to know except for my reading. And it sure was an enjoyable journey. Recommended.