A Georgian, Mrs. Bowne describes the village and mission of Sanoyea, Liberia, with unexpected, unprejudiced sympathy and...

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GIFT FROM THE AFRICAN HEART

A Georgian, Mrs. Bowne describes the village and mission of Sanoyea, Liberia, with unexpected, unprejudiced sympathy and understanding. In this remote bush-country village about fifty miles from Monrovia, she depicts the hardship of village life with careful attention to small details about individuals, making the village people with their conflicting beliefs ""come alive"". Her descriptive remarks, regrettably few, however, shed some light on the changes taking place in African thought today. Unfortunately, the author's intent is not to comment on our segregation problems and maturative growth. Her attempt at self-analysis, starting with her pregnancy, her husband's death in a plane crash near Sanoyea, the birth of her child, her trip to Liberia two months later, and, concluding with her self-realization and emotional recovery, dominates rather than complements the portion about Africa. Her personal reflections about losing faith in God and being drawn by some mystic force to her husband's jungle grave make the book as a whole seem naive, sentimental and superficial.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dodd, Mead

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1961

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