Rating: 
Summary: Ben & Jerry's new flavor might be "Mango Elephants"
Review: It's hard to lick a hot book on a good Summer day, but "Mango Elephants in the Sun" comes close. Pouring her heart and soul into Sub-Sahara Africa village life, Susana dreamed of things Americans take for granted,e.g.,Chunky Monkey, hot and cold running water, phone service nearer than the next village, and air conditioning when the temperature rose above 112 degrees. The next best thing was homemade ice cream, although it required an overnight trip to obtain ingredients--just past the gendarmes, with goats and chickens in a crowded dumptruck/bush taxi to the "White Man's Store" in-country. There a Peace Corps Volunteer spent half a month's living allowance to share a little joy. Then hurried on home to where the heart is to make the only ice cream the children of her village ever tasted. PCVs know this "can-do" attitude intimately, while parents/friends/Returned Peace Corps Volunteers can read Herrera's 60 stories and poems--gladly! She wonders, "When I leave Africa, will the children remember me?" Yeah, baby! And so will we, when we hear Windchanting, lizard speaks, and the temperature rises on a hot Summer day. Maybe then, if we're lucky, for among us are some who are fortunate indeed to have tasted "Mango Elephants in the Sun." I never knew they made ice cream or books this good! As for you, well, you've just had a taste.
Rating:
Summary: Ben & Jerry's new flavor might be "Mango Elephants"
Review: It's hard to lick a hot book on a good Summer day, but "Mango Elephants in the Sun" comes close. Pouring her heart and soul into Sub-Sahara Africa village life, Susana dreamed of things Americans take for granted,e.g.,Chunky Monkey, hot and cold running water, phone service nearer than the next village, and air conditioning when the temperature rose above 112 degrees. The next best thing was homemade ice cream, although it required an overnight trip to obtain ingredients--just past the gendarmes, with goats and chickens in a crowded dumptruck/bush taxi to the "White Man's Store" in-country. There a Peace Corps Volunteer spent half a month's living allowance to share a little joy. Then hurried on home to where the heart is to make the only ice cream the children of her village ever tasted. PCVs know this "can-do" attitude intimately, while parents/friends/Returned Peace Corps Volunteers can read Herrera's 60 stories and poems--gladly! She wonders, "When I leave Africa, will the children remember me?" Yeah, baby! And so will we, when we hear Windchanting, lizard speaks, and the temperature rises on a hot Summer day. Maybe then, if we're lucky, for among us are some who are fortunate indeed to have tasted "Mango Elephants in the Sun." I never knew they made ice cream or books this good! As for you, well, you've just had a taste.
Rating:
Summary: A sensitive look at finding oneself in another culture
Review: It's hard to tell who was changed more when Susana Herrera went to a small village in northern Cameroon to teach as a Peace Corps volunteer: the villagers or Susana. She brought a hidden capacity of strength and independence as a woman and the ability to ride a bike. They brought an understanding of how a person could feel at home in her own skin. It's hard to tell who got the better bargain. But the reader wins the most from this touching story of a frightened and self-conscious young person who becomes a fierce and vibrant woman treasured by the people she comes to help and ends up learning so much from. Through storms, droughts, anarchy in the classroom, life-threatening illness, political upheaval, love, hate, competition and pain, the author learns how to live--in her own skin. A phenomenal book, particularly for a first book. There is something important about embracing life in this memoir that will speak to every reader.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book!
Review: Ms. Herrera's prose evoked feeling as strongly as if it were poetry, simple and crisp. In short vinettes she was able to capture detail and emotion so vivid that sometimes I felt I was looking at a photograph instead of reading words on a page. Her clever use of the lizard poetry to pull back and gain perspective or to push the story along worked. I highly recommend this book to especially young people raised in the United States under condition that we so easily forget are luxurious to most of the world. I also think this book has value as a demonstration that differences can be embraced, learned from, and enjoyed instead of something to be fearful of.
Rating:
Summary: Touching prose and poetry equally moving.
Review: Ms. Herrera's prose evoked feeling as strongly as if it were poetry, simple and crisp. In short vinettes she was able to capture detail and emotion so vivid that sometimes I felt I was looking at a photograph instead of reading words on a page. Her clever use of the lizard poetry to pull back and gain perspective or to push the story along worked. I highly recommend this book to especially young people raised in the United States under condition that we so easily forget are luxurious to most of the world. I also think this book has value as a demonstration that differences can be embraced, learned from, and enjoyed instead of something to be fearful of.
Rating:
Summary: To Kaele and Beyond...Run Baby Run!
Review: Running fifty-two miles in twenty-eight hours in the intense desert heat is only one example of how Susana Herrera met the challenges she encountered as a Peace Corp. volunteer in a small village in northern Cameroon in Africa. Some of these included temperatures in excess of 115-120 degrees, a life threatening bout with malaria, the illnesses and deaths of beloved village friends, gender bias, a snake in her bedroom and scorpions in the outhouse, termites munching on her bed frame and wine stealing elephants. All of the above while nibbling on fried termites and locusts and dreaming of chili rellenos, rice and beans, and ice cream. Ms. Herrera's determination to become a part of, and make a difference in, a foreign and often hostile environment is inspirational. With extraordinary persistence, humor and a big heart she slowly wins over most of the villagers. She laughs and cries with them, plays and works with them, and learns from them. The village doctor falls in love with her and she with him, but Susana realizes the futilty of the relationship--his place is in Africa and hers is the U.S. Her love for these people whose lives she touches, and theirs for her, is heartwarming and wonderful. This book is a rare and enchanting read that will leave you feeling good in your skin.
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Personal Account
Review: Susana Herrera has written a beautiful and moving account of her experiences in Cameroon. She has a gift for writing and for poetry, and more important is open to learning from a very different culture than her own. In addition, the book is very funny. Herrera has a sense of humor about others and about herself.
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Personal Account
Review: Susana Herrera has written a beautiful and moving account of her experiences in Cameroon. She has a gift for writing and for poetry, and more important is open to learning from a very different culture than her own. In addition, the book is very funny. Herrera has a sense of humor about others and about herself.
Rating: 
Summary: Light Read, but Not Memorable
Review: This book was interesting, but after reading the Peace Corps novel by Peter Hessler, this one just did not compare. I was not impressed by the style of the writing, the book was organized around journal entries and poems that the author wrote. It just left the book feeling empty and contrived. It seems like the author was most concerned with getting to know herself through her journal entries, which is entirely understandable, as most of us would do the same. However, I just don't think there is enough interesting material about herself to justify my time in a novel. I wanted to get to know the Peace Corps experience and her country better, but feel like I only got to explore her thoughts and feelings rather than a deeper connect with something that would interest a third party. She is definitely a great person and someone that would be great to be friends with, but it is not really worth reading a whole book about her journal entries.
Rating: 
Summary: Good story, but just not what I was looking for...
Review: When I found out I was going to Cameroon I did a search on Amazon.com for "Cameroon". This was by far the most helpful hit I received. After reading the book I went to northern Cameroon in March 2000 on a humanitarian mission with the Air Force. It was just coincidence that I went to the same general area as the book (Garoua & Maroua). Reading this book gave me a greater understanding of the people and the culture. Everything in this book rang true, the poverty, the close families, the emphisis on class, the small town doctors, and the basic generosity of the people. Her honest narrative and personal approch to her subject is unmatched. I felt her friendship and frustration. Her friends became my friends and it left me wishing for an update on how they are today. This is a book about two years of a persons life. Cameroon and the Peace Corps are just the framework. Her writing was so vivid I now would read anything by her no matter what the subject. If you enjoy people and their complexities..... read this book.
|
