Beth F
Sandy
bermudaonion (Kathy)
Stephanie
Trisha
Monique and the Mango Rains by Kris Holloway
In 1989 Kris Halloway became a member of the Peace Corps and was sent to Mali in Africa. She went to help people, and immerse herself in another culture. She went and came back changed. Other than perhaps the fellow Peace Corps volunteer who would one day become her husband, the person who had the greatest impact on Kris’ time in Mali was Monique Dembele, Kris’ host and the village midwife. Monique had a love for life, good humor, and a friendly, comforting demeanor.
According to my contact at Literary Ventures Fund, Kris originally published her book through a textbook company that sold only directly to professors through a mail order catalog, a company that had no connection to major bookstores. Thank goodness that Literary Ventures Fund got involved! It would have been a shame if this book hadn’t been released to a wider audience.
This book is valuable for a number of reasons. First, it describes in a very straight-forward way the lives of these people in this small village in Mali. Although Kris occasionally pushes back against parts of the culture she disagrees with (female circumcision, for one), this is done in a decidedly un-paternalistic way. Second, the book is, quite simply, wonderfully written. The words flow beautifully, and the emotions are real and completely accessible to the reader.
I picked this book up Friday morning while I was on the train on my way to the airport. While I was reading nothing else existed for me but this village and these people: not the people on the train talking on their cell phones, not crying children at the airport, not airline announcements, nothing. Thank goodness I finished before my flight was announced! I will give this book the highest praise I can: even though I read it a mere 5 days ago, I’ve already bought another copy and given it as a gift.
Buy This Book on Amazon: Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Midwife in Mali
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I’m sold – I have to read this!
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I have this book to review as well, am so excited to read it too!
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I hope/believe that you will both love it. Megan, perhaps you can win it in my contest…
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OK, I’m in! This has been on my wish list for a while now. I huge fan of non-fiction/memoir (not celebrity memoir!). This seems like it touches some of the same subjects as Ayaan Harsi Ali’s *Infidel* … have you read that?
I’ll be blogging about your contest and creating a link for you
http://sheistoofondofbooks.wordpress.com/
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I have purchase “Infidel” and am dying to read it, but have had too many review books to read so far (and just too many TBR books in general!).
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Sounds fantastic if you were so enthralled! I’ll add it to my TBR pile.
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This is the second positive review I have read on this book. Think I might have to read it.
LibrarysCat
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Your high praise for this one makes me want to read it sooner than later. I’ve already got this on the TBR and am looking forward to it.
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This sounds like a very interesting book and I’ll be keeping an eye out for it at the library.
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I chose this book for our book club to read and am so glad I did.
I read the book within a week as well and loved it! It made me laugh, cry and most of all THINK. To think of how much easier we have it here in the western world as women, to think of how similar our goals and dreams are as women despite the cultural and geographical differences, and to think of all that we can do as women if we work together is unbelievable. This book just made me want to get up and just do SOMETHING! I LOVED It and so did all the women in my bookclub. I highly recomend this book.
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Jen’s mom just ordered this book for me! I can’t wait to read it.
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I’ve been interested in this book since I saw it on Library Thing’s Early Reviewer list, and your review has absolutely confirmed that I need to go buy the book. Thanks so much for the great review!
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I’ve been wanting to read this since I first heard about it.
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i just got this book to read.. i read the review of it in Natasha’s blog and i found it interesting.. so i got the book.. nice to see that you liked it too! shall be reading it soon:)
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Good review. I really want to read this. I should check if my library has one but somehow I doubt it.
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You’re right! I can still comment on this post.
When you can say on a train in Chicago that nothing else existed a village and its villagers in Africa, that is quite a statement. It’s a very powerful image that speaks so well for this book!
This one of your best reviews in my humble (I am ever so Dutch!) opinion.
.-= Literate Housewife´s last blog ..BBAW Excitement is in the Air =-.
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