June 27, 2001 - Hall Audiobook: RPCVs review "Whites" by Peace Corps/ Botswana Co-Director Norman Rush

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Botswana: Peace Corps Botswana : The Peace Corps in Botswana: June 27, 2001 - Hall Audiobook: RPCVs review "Whites" by Peace Corps/ Botswana Co-Director Norman Rush

By Admin1 (admin) on Saturday, February 01, 2003 - 7:17 pm: Edit Post

RPCVs review "Whites" by Peace Corps/ Botswana Co-Director Norman Rush



RPCVs review "Whites" by Peace Corps/ Botswana Co-Director Norman Rush

Great Stories of Expatriate Life

Rush is an American who lived in Botswana for a number of years, and these stories about expatriate life there bear the ring the authenticity that can only come from personal experience. The stories are slightly linked through shared characters, characters who find themselves changed by Botswana in sometimes surprising ways. Funny and tender, this book is an excellent window into living abroad.

Rating 5 The Perspective of a Former Peace Corps Volunteer

I served in the Peace Corps while Norm Rush was Co-Director of Peace Corps/ Botswana. Norm's book is an excellent protrayal of volunteers and other expatriates. Moreover, it is a terrific read. Although it is "fiction," I recognized all the characters as being "real." Nevertheless, although the book does ring true, it is not a complete portrayal of Peace Corps Volunteers and volunteers from other countries. What Norm doesn't decribe, probably because they are less interesting from a novelist's perspective, are the many volunteers who did their best to learn Setswana (the national language), who did their best to succeed in the culture, and who worked hard every day. Norm's book is excellent, and although fiction, it is an accurate protrayal of expat/ volunteer life, but it is not their whole story.

Rating 4 Skip Mating... Read this

I tried to read Mating when I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Botswana, but like everyone else I knew, had to put it down because it was such rubbish. When I came back to the US, I was amazed and enthralled with Whites, a collection of lucid and often funny short stories. Mating has little or no foundation in reality (even some of the Setswana words he uses are incorrect or don't exist). Whites is a telling portrayal of expatriate life in Gaborone as it was in the late seventies and early eighties. Even though I lived in Gaborone from '95-'97, some of the stories still rang true to me. Don't waste your time on Mating, this is the book to read.



Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Botswana; Special Interests - Writing

PCOL2359
78

.

By rene hilegrs (77.167.146.180) on Sunday, August 02, 2009 - 4:31 pm: Edit Post

I am looking for Thomas Williams who served for the Peace Corps in Lentweletau, Botswana from 1990-1992 together with Dom & Millie.
After this mission he left to Lesotho also for the Peace Corps. I would like to get in touch with him but lost his address.Last time I heard from him, he was living in Houston,Texas.
my E-mail: rhi@planet.nl


Add a Message


This is a public posting area. Enter your username and password if you have an account. Otherwise, enter your full name as your username and leave the password blank. Your e-mail address is optional.
Username:  
Password:
E-mail: