'Bookmobile' drives home African life
By Carol Memmott
The
Camel Bookmobile is a novel, but its inspiration is an African library
program that delivers books on the backs of camels to impoverished nomadic
tribes in Kenya.Like Kabul Beauty School, Bookmobile is also the story of an American woman who finds new meaning in her own life while helping others.
The fictional Fiona Sweeney, a mild librarian living in Brooklyn, sets off to Kenya in hopes of bringing literacy and a connection to the modern world to Kenya's poor.
But not everyone is grateful. Traditionalists fear the books will damage tribal lifestyles that have existed for thousands of years and cause members to yearn for a mostly unobtainable lifestyle.
When a disfigured teenage boy refuses to return the books he has borrowed, it sets off a controversy that threatens the book-lending program. The boy, Taban, as well as the other African characters in the book, are far more compelling and complexly drawn than the more vapid Fiona.
Masha Hamilton's portrayal of nomadic culture is lovingly and colorfully told. It's a painterly glimpse into a world that few Westerners will ever see.