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The Camel Bookmobile: A Novel (P.S.)
by: Masha Hamilton

List Price: $13.95

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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780061173493
ISBN: 0061173495
Label: Harper Perennial
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 336
Publication Date: April 01, 2008
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Release Date: April 01, 2008
Sales Rank: 28047
Studio: Harper Perennial

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Editorial Review:

Product Description:

Fiona Sweeney wants to do something that matters, and she chooses to make her mark in the arid bush of northeastern Kenya. By helping to start a traveling library, she hopes to bring the words of Homer, Hemingway, and Dr. Seuss to far-flung tiny communities where people live daily with drought, hunger, and disease. Her intentions are honorable, and her rules are firm: due to the limited number of donated books, if any one of them is not returned, the bookmobile will not return.

But, encumbered by her Western values, Fi does not understand the people she seeks to help. And in the impoverished small community of Mididima, she finds herself caught in the middle of a volatile local struggle when the bookmobile's presence sparks a dangerous feud between the proponents of modernization and those who fear the loss of traditional ways.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- This book was just okay...
A woman who sees her life going nowhere goes to Kenya and starts a camel bookmobile to bring books to the people. However, one day a boy does not return his book, and according to policy, this means the bookmobile can no longer lend books to this particular village.
Loving books myself, I thought this night be a winner...and at first, it was. However, the author had many things going on, things that made me wonder, "Oh my...how are these characters going to get out of this one?" so I kept on reading. The ending was a total cop-out, like the author realized, "Oops. I don't know how to fix this!" so they came up with a ending that was disapointing. Plus, learning that the kid (who is almost 17 years old) wouldn't return his book because he took the book apart and drew on the pages (!!!???) is about the stupidest reason the author could have thought up to explain why the kid wouldn't return it. So overall, the ... Read More

Rating:

- thoroughly enjoyed
What a great story about a real organization. This really inspires you to think about how our modern ways can help and/or hinder a third world area. Great discussion book and very satisfying.

Rating:

- Touching, Surprising and So Satisfying
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 ... Read More

Rating:

- The Power of Books
I thoroughly identified with the main character, a 30-something librarian from New York, who naively believes she can make a difference in Africa through the power of books. The author has the courage to face the fact that books can be a two-edged sword, with the power to change for the good or the bad. Tribal elders have their own, more highly valued traditions, including oral storytelling, that are threatened by the introduction of books. At the same time, the younger generation longs for the chance to see beyond their village and to dream of a different future. The conflict between these desires and the difficult consequences that result create a spell-binding book. With hopeful naivety, my book club contacted the author's website, gathered two boxes of children's books, sent them to the real Kenyan bookmobile, and hoped for the best.

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