Book review - The camel bookmobile

I can't resist popping in my first book review. And of course discussing the music it sent me to.

The camel bookmobile by Masha Hamilton
I read The camel bookmobile in a day, borrowing it mainly as I had seen an article on the real camel bookmobile in a library journal several years ago.
An American librarian, Fiona Sweeney, has volunteered to get the camel bookmobile off the ground and goes to Kenya to visit small desert communities with donated books transported around the desert on camels.
The novel focuses upon the experiences of the small semi-nomadic village of Mididima whose tribal ways are challenged by the infusion of books, ideas and a world beyond the village fence. The tribal elders are very suspicious of losing traditional tribal values and ways of life. Younger villagers welcome the opportunity to experience vicariously the world outside Mididima through the words and images portrayed in the donated books. Others like Scar Boy, a boy damaged in an attack by a hyena, use the books in ways not forseen by Fi, her boss and the villagers. In the middle is the teacher, Matani, who has experienced both worlds and has chosen to return to his village and try to educate the children of the village. Fiona seeks to help and educate others and finds herself receiving a life education in return. She will never be the same again.
Beautifully written, this novel is about love, loss and a collision of cultures. The story will resonate with you long after you’ve finished reading it.

This book quite literally sent me back to U2 for the rest of the weekend. I hadn't played All that you can't leave behind for quite a few months yet the themes of love and loss resonate through this album as they do through The camel bookmobile. In the end I felt compelled to play all my U2 albums (in order naturally - can't you tell I'm a librarian!)