Product Description

Fiona Sweeney wants to do something that matters, and she chooses to make her mark in the arid bush of northeastern Kenya. By helping to start a traveling library, she hopes to bring the words of Homer, Hemingway, and Dr. Seuss to far-flung tiny communities where people live daily with drought, hunger, and disease. Her intentions are honorable, and her rules are firm: due to the limited number of donated books, if any one of them is not returned, the bookmobile will not return.

But, encumbered by her Western values, Fi does not understand the people she seeks to help. And in the impoverished small community of Mididima, she finds herself caught in the middle of a volatile local struggle when the bookmobile's presence sparks a dangerous feud between the proponents of modernization and those who fear the loss of traditional ways.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17657 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-01
• Released on: 2008-04-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

From Publishers Weekly
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 Western-imposed "education" versus a village's perceived perils of exposure to the developed world. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal
Adult/High School—Fiona, a New York librarian filled with a sense of adventure and a desire to do good, heads to Kenya to run the camel bookmobile. She has long romanticized Africa, and she arrives determined but naive. Her most remote stop is Mididima, a seminomadic farming village with a makeshift school, led by Matani, who has studied in Nairobi but returned to educate his fellow villagers. Young Kanika, who wants to leave and study as well; the reclusive Scar Boy; and their families are among Fiona's patrons. When Scar Boy doesn't return the books he's borrowed, the overly rigid local librarian threatens to end the Mididima stop. Fiona, Matani, and Kanika each have stake in keeping the bookmobile coming, so they all try to get the boy to return them. However, he has his own compelling reason to keep them. All of the characters take a turn at narrating chapters, allowing readers to understand their place in the story more fully. Ultimately, each one is changed by the bookmobile, but not in ways that they (or we) might expect. Teens can enjoy not only the multicultural aspect of this novel but also the quiet drama and plot twists that impart the differences and similarities among the characters.—Jamie Watson, Harford County Public Library, MD
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* Yes, there really is such a thing as a camel bookmobile, and the image of unwieldy beasts laden with book-filled boxes provided inspiration for novelist Hamilton (The Distance between Us, 2004) to compose a lush celebration of the productive--and destructive--power of the written word. Languishing in a dead-end job in a Brooklyn library, Fiona Sweeney, 36, feels time is passing her by. So when the opportunity arises to travel to Africa to manage an unorthodox mobile library, Fi jumps at the chance to influence a culture of nomadic people whose existence is dependent upon more basic human requirements, such as water, food, and shelter. With everything from Seuss to Shakespeare, Fi's regular deliveries of books elate the village women and children but intimidate tribal elders, who fear change and anticipate the loss of their ancient ways. When the bookmobile's one intractable rule is broken, the village turns on the emotionally and physically scarred teenager whose act of rebellion jeopardizes everything Fi has worked for. With a heartfelt appreciation for the potential of literature to transcend cultural divides, Hamilton has created a poignant, ennobling, and buoyant tale of risks and rewards, surrender and sacrifice. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

This book was just okay...
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.

thoroughly enjoyed
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.

Touching, Surprising and So 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.