Hamilton, Masha. The Camel Bookmobile. HarperCollins. Apr. 2007. c.320p. ISBN 0-06-117348-7 [ISBN 978-0-06-117348-6]. $24.95. F
New
York City librarian Fiona Sweeney has taken an unusual assignment in
Kenya—running a bookmobile service powered by camel and serving isolated,
seminomadic villages like Mididima, where teenaged library customer Kanika
lives with her grandmother, Neema. Taban, a young man severely scarred as a
toddler by a hyena, is shunned by most of the community, but he and Kanika
share a friendship and a sweet anticipation of Sweeney's every visit. Matani,
Mididima's schoolmaster, is a champion of the service, but even he can't do
anything when several missing books threaten the village's reputation and
set off a chain of events that expose misguided motives, hidden agendas,
illicit romance, and tragedy. This third novel from international journalist
Hamilton (e.g., The Distance Between Us, an LJ Best Book)
presents a rare and balanced perspective on issues surrounding cultural
intrusion and the very meaning and necessity of literacy, using rich and
evocative prose that skillfully exposes the stark realities of poverty and
charity in today's Africa. Highly recommended for any fiction collection.
[See Prepub Alert, LJ 12/06; the story was suggested by the Camel Mobile
Library Service actually provided by Kenya's national library.—Ed.]-- Jenn B. Stidham, Houston Community Coll.-Northeast, TX