September 28, 2003 - Henry Holt Publishers: Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of an African Village by Ivory Coast RPCV Sarah Erdman

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Ivory Coast: Peace Corps Ivory Coast : The Peace Corps in the Ivory Coast: September 28, 2003 - Henry Holt Publishers: Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of an African Village by Ivory Coast RPCV Sarah Erdman

By Admin1 (admin) on Sunday, September 28, 2003 - 1:07 pm: Edit Post

Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of an African Village by Ivory Coast RPCV Sarah Erdman



Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of an African Village by Ivory Coast RPCV Sarah Erdman

Nine Hills to Nambonkaha
Two Years in the Heart of an African Village
Sarah Erdman
Henry Holt and Co.
336 pages
Size: 5 1/2 x 8 1/4
22 half-tones
$23.00
Hardcover

Pub Date: 09/2003
ISBN: 0-8050-7381-7

A portrait of a resilient African village, ruled until recently by magic and tradition, now facing modern problems and responding, often triumphantly, to change

When Sarah Erdman, a Peace Corps volunteer, arrived in Nambonkaha, she became the first Caucasian to venture there since the French colonialists. But even though she was thousands of miles away from the United States, completely on her own in this tiny village in the West African nation of Côte d'Ivoire, she did not feel like a stranger for long.

As her vivid narrative unfolds, Erdman draws us into the changing world of the village that became her home. Here is a place where electricity is expected but never arrives, where sorcerers still conjure magic, where the tok-tok sound of women grinding corn with pestles rings out in the mornings like church bells. Rare rains provoke bathing in the streets and the most coveted fashion trend is fabric with illustrations of Western cell phones. Yet Nambonkaha is also a place where AIDS threatens and poverty is constant, where women suffer the indignities of patriarchal customs, where children work like adults while still managing to dream.

Lyrical and topical, Erdman's beautiful debut captures the astonishing spirit of an unforgettable community.


Quotes
"It is rare to pick up a book and be so completely transported to another land, another culture. The village of Nambonkaha comes alive in Edrman's hands. Her powers of observation, her prose and her daring are truly Orwellian." -Abraham Verghese, author of My Own Country


Author Biography
A graduate of Middlebury College, Sarah Erdman still works for the Peace Corps and lives in Washington, D.C. The child of parents who spent their entire careers in the Foreign Service, she lived in eight countries while growing up.




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Story Source: Henry Holt Publishers

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Ivory Coast; Writing - Ivory Coast

PCOL7950
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By Val Schnable (adsl-67-38-17-66.dsl.sfldmi.ameritech.net - 67.38.17.66) on Monday, April 05, 2004 - 9:55 pm: Edit Post

Having just completed Nine Hills to Nambonkaha, I am pleased to add another favorite author to my list! My son's girlfriend left for Senegal in early March. We have all read Ms. Erdman's book to visualize the environment she in which she is immersed.
As a college administrator anxious to get students to value the vast complexity of the world outside of their favorite Walmart, I am going to strongly recommend this book for at least one of the cultural courses.
On a personal note--it has been a long time since I stayed up half the night laughing and crying as Sarah's story unfolded. Thank you.

By Dolly Lewis (216-51-106-1.bal-02.cvx.algx.net - 216.51.106.1) on Thursday, April 26, 2007 - 10:37 pm: Edit Post

I met Sarah Erdman when she was a very effective guest speaker for our high school student writers at Arlington Echo (a riverside retreat)in Anne Arundel County, MD. She was lovely, and so is her book, so I thought of it and her when I took over a book review column (which mostly focuses on books with a local connection) for a local magazine. I'd like to contact her regarding her book and my review of it, so I am hoping someone will tell me how I might contact her. My email address is dollylewis2002@yahoo.com


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