CAMEROON WITH EGBERT

by Dervia Murphy ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 15, 1991

Travel is just not what it used to be. Contemporary travelers competing with the ubiquitous packaged tour must now come up with an angle--as veteran traveler and writer Murphy (On a Shoestring to Coorg, 1989, etc.) has done with this new, engaging book. With teen-age daughter Rachel in tow, Murphy finds a horse, Egbert, to carry baggage as the two women walk around the West African nation of Cameroon. Like her Victorian counterparts, Murphy is absolutely fearless, indifferent to comfort, somewhat eccentric, and if not exactly arrogant certainly abundantly full of confidence. She heads into jungles, up mountains, across arid plains in the noonday sun, drinks the local water, frequents the local bar in societies where women are not usually seen in public, sleeps out under the stars when no village is in sight, and simultaneously delivers a tart commentary on the local customs, history, and problems of contemporary Africa. Daughter Rachel, who isn't given much voice, is most obliging, as is wonder-horse Egbert, who must survive on the indifferent grazing of their daily resting-places. The Murphys visit the site of the recent Lake Nyos explosion, and, as they wander through the Cameroon highlands, climb the famous Gangdaba and Mbabo Mountains. The journey in itself is not that remarkable, but Murphy's comments and sympathy for Africa's problems are thoughtful, and her zest for novelty and adventure most endearing. Typical of the genre, then, but more substantive than the usual fare.

Pub Date: April 15, 1991

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Overlook--dist. by Viking

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1991

Categories: NONFICTION