The Camel Bookmobile: A Novel (P.S.)

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 book was just ok. I think it could have been better.

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.

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 is a living entity that gives as well as takes. The fact that Matani, educated though he is, does not reject the old superstitions or the old methods of discipline, says something profound about this ancient culture as well as our own. Finally, the imagery throughout is so beautiful, and that final snapshot of Fi standing in the spot that so recently was so tangible but had become a mere memory is breathtaking. (The understated departure, with acceptance rather than mourning, was perfect). I love the resonance of the graffiti phrase, "I was here." I could say so much more (the mosquito passages, the seemless shifting of points of view, the contradictory relationship Jwahir has with modern versus traditional, and so forth), about all I admired in the novel.

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.

This book succeeds on a variety of levels. It is first of all enjoyable fiction. The factual quotes before chapters lend a bleak reality to the stark conditions of the environment wherein the story transpires. It is, however, the richness of the characterization that makes the novel soar. Each character sings in a proud triumphant voice, as the bookmobile enters, leaves and then returns to the complexity of African life.