The Camel Bookmobile MASHA HAMILTON. HarperCollins, $24.95 (320p) ISBN 978-0-06-117348-6
Hamilton’s
captivating third novel (after 2004’s The Distance Between Us) follows Fiona
Sweeney, a 36- year-old librarian, from New York to Garissa, Kenya, on her
sincere but naïve quest to make a difference in the world. Fi enlists to run
the titular mobile library overseen by Mr. Abasi, and in her travels through
the bush, the small village of Mididima becomes her favorite stop. There,
Matani, the village teacher; Kanika, an independent, vivacious young woman;
and Kanika’s grandmother Neema are the most avid proponents of the library
and the knowledge it brings to the community. Not everyone shares such
esteem for the project, however. Taban, known as Scar Boy; Jwahir, Matani’s
wife; and most of the town elders think these books threaten the tradition
and security of Mididima. When two books go missing, tensions arise between
those who welcome all that the books represent and those who prefer the
time-honored oral traditions of the tribe. Kanika, Taban and Matani become
more vibrant than Fi, who never outgrows the cookie-cutter mold of a woman
needing excitement and fulfillment, but Hamilton weaves memorable characters
and elemental emotions in artful prose with the lofty theme of
Westernimposed “education” versus a village’s perceived perils of exposure
to the developed world. (Apr.)