The camel bookmobile hardcover tattered cover book store. A compelling novel that shows how one life can change many, in spite of dangerous and seemingly immutable obstacles. Indeed may be compensated by these employers, helping keep indeed free for jobseekers. Fiona sweeney shoved a pair of rolledup jeans into the corner of her purple duffel bag. To her credit, hamilton did not allow herself to be blinded by the inspirational aspects of bringing books and ideas to readers who had. In this vivid, absorbing novel, masha hamilton transports her readers, even more surely than the camels do books, to the village of mididima and the struggle between traditional values and western education. This document is an extract of the camel bookmobile who was written by masha hamilton in 2007. Indeed ranks job ads based on a combination of employer bids and relevance, such as your search terms and other activity on indeed. Hamilton is the author of four other novelsstaircase of a thousand steps, the distance between us, the camel bookmobile, and 31 hoursand the founder of both the camel book drive and the afghan womens writing project. Here she acknowledges the mundane reality that things do fall apart, but it is effort and intention that make the meaning of things.
This document is an extract of the camel bookmobile. The camel bookmobile by masha hamilton browsers corner. And i saw fi, the idealistic american who hopes to help enlighten a people of the bush but finds that she is the one who learns the most. Cookbooks, novels, parenting booksthey all matter to fiona fi sweeney, a librarian from brooklyn searching for fulfillment atop a bookladen camel in the arid and dangerous bush of kenya. Reflection on book the camel bookmobile essay example. Masha hamilton faculty profile gotham writers workshop. Author masha hamilton has accompanied the camels on library trips through kenyas isolated northeastern province. Pulling back her dark, frizzy hair and securing it with a clip, fi moved to the living room and plopped onto the floor across from devi, who sprawled in a long skirt on the couch. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction.
Mar 06, 2009 and if youve got a teen, he or she might want to check out the book, from author masha hamilton. Their mission was to provide the written word to remote villages and city suburbs that had no libraries. The camel bookmobile faculty book excerpt gotham writers. The camel bookmobile was conceived to educate the people of the bush in africa, to introduce them to teading and opening their minds to a greater world. In masha hamiltons latest novel, an idealistic american takes a job in kenya delivering library books by camel. Nature versus culture the narrator of the book the camel bookmobile by masha hamilton, struggles with bringing new ideas through her bookmobile to a traditional african culture. She felt she needed to know more about the world and people. Fiona sweeney wants to do something that matters, and she chooses to make her mark in the arid bush of northeastern kenya. Masha hamilton, a journalist and novelist and, until recently, the director. Read how and why i invented the mosquito quotes for this book.
The camel bookmobile by masha hamilton book resume. Gothams masha hamilton desired to write fiction, but she didnt feel thick enough. Though fi is passionate about bringing western classics to the seminomadic, illiterate peoples of the rural african bush, she soon finds that. Based on true events, author hamilton creates fiction in a place where we can taste the dust, swelter under the sun, know the people and care about them.
The camel bookmobile is a novel by masha hamilton about a woman named fiona sweeney, or fi, who leaves her family behind to travel to kenya, on a quest to make a difference in the lives of those in need by creating a traveling library. It looks like we dont have a synopsis for this title yet. Analyse what personal benefits the main character hopes to derive from this kenyan experience. The camel bookmobile by masha hamilton 2,171 ratings, 3.
Masha hamiltons compelling third novel, the camel bookmobile, leaves no room for doubt. Give additional information about the main character surname, nickname, family composition 4. Read free book excerpt from the camel bookmobile by masha hamilton, page 1 of 2. Masha hamilton s the camel bookmobile was inspired by the real camel library that is headquartered in garissa, kenya, and which uses camels to carry books to and from readers who live in the remote areas of that country.
Masha hamilton s long experience reporting all over the world informs her work. This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and if not signed in for advertising. The story centers around a camel bookmobile that delivers books to villagers in a remote area of kenya. Buy the camel bookmobile by hamilton, masha from amazons fiction books store. We invite you to remember these forgotten fourwheelers of the past. Publisher harper collins, april 2007 in the camel bookmobile, masha hamilton tells the story of a restless american librarian searching for more meaning in her life who travels to africa to help start a library carrying books to remote settlements on the backs of camels. The camel bookmobile by masha hamilton thriftbooks. Four times a week, in sweltering temperatures, librarians and camel drivers travel from garissa and wajir to accompany the camels two to three hours into the bush. Outside her bedroon window, a sirens wail sliced through the white noise of a wet snowfall. Hamilton worked as a foreign correspondent for the associated press for five years in the middle east, where she covered the first intifada, the peace process, and the partial israeli withdrawal from lebanon. The distance between us, 2004 named one of the best books of the year by library journal, the camel bookmobile, 2007 also a booksense pick, and 31 hours, named. The camel bookmobile follows an american librarian who travels to the arid bush of northeastern kenya to give meaning to her life, but ultimately loses a piece of her heart. The bookmobile divides the seminomadic people it intends to serve.
Hamilton s captivating third novel after 2004s the distance between us follows fiona sweeney, a 36yearold librarian, from new york to garissa, kenya. Ham a new york librarian who needs to do something meaningful with her life travels to kenya to start a traveling library that will bring literacy and knowledge to the tribes living in the african bush. Just click the edit page button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the synopsis submission guide. Fiona sweeney wants to do something that matters, and she chooses to make her mark in the arid bush of northeastern. The camel bookmobile is a triumphant tale of the indomitable human spirit similar in feeling and themes to the immensely popular slumdog millionaire. She would begin the morning with the speed and joy of a wellaimed spear, and that would make the moments fly faster until the camel bookmobile and miss sweeney arrived. A superb novel of a travelling library, the kenyan landscape and the threat to a fragile way of life. The camel bookmobile vibrates with the life and landscape of africa.
Camel bookmobile discussion questions galesburg public library. Introduction fiona sweeney wants to do something that matters, and she chooses to make her mark in the arid bush of northeastern kenya. Today, she would not be disturbed by thoughts of uncles whose minds resembled mud pools, or lurking husbands or pointless chores. The camel bookmobile by masha hamilton reading guidebook. Cultures clash in the camel bookmobile, good intentions may be misplaced or not. Donkey drawn electrocommunication library carts were being employed in zimbabwe in 2002 as a centre for electric and electronic communication. Veteran reporter and twotime novelist masha hamilton s latest book takes readers into the remotest areas of the african continent to explore what happens when modern western traditions are introduced into the very fabric of a third world, traditionally nomadic society. What is gained or lost by the use of multiple viewpoints to tell this story. Seuss to farflung tiny communities where people live daily with drought, hunger, and disease. The homepage of novelist and journalist masha hamilton, author of staircase of a thousand steps, the distance between us and the camel bookmobile.
As a journalist, she spent five years in the middle east working as a foreign correspondent and news editor for the. Though fi is passionate about bringing western classics to the seminomadic, illiterate peoples of the rural african bush, she soon finds that she has just as much to learn as they do about the complexities of the world. I had a sense that people in war zones are perfumes of themselves. In this text we discover what fionawant do in her life, and we know she want to. Im thinking a trip to the library might be in order no camel required. The distance between us, 2004 named one of the best books of the year by library journal, the camel bookmobile, 2007 also a booksense pick, and 31 hours. Masha hamilton used this service as a background for her 2007 novel the camel bookmobile. By helping to start a traveling library, she hopes to bring the words of homer, hemingway, and dr. Basically, the author of the camel bookmobile masha hamilton and her colleagues are attempting to. The camel bookmobile this month sees the release of gotham novel teacher masha hamilton s third novel, the camel bookmobile. Perfect for fans of alexander mccall smith deep in the heart of the dusty kenyan desert a train of heavily laden camels wind their way slowly through the bush. Those errie manmade moans were part of new york citys wallpaper, a signal of troubble commonplace enough to pass unnoticed. Can the camel bookmobile be seen as an allegory for whats still taking place in the world today. The actual camel bookmobile brings books to seminomadic people in northeastern kenya who live with the most minimal of possessions, suffering.
In fact, the camel bookmobile changes each character in unexpected ways. A friendly feline and a feisty librarian merrily roll along in the newest bookmobile cat mysteryuntil murder stops them in their tracks. Masha hamilton is a united states journalist and the author of five novels. Jul 04, 2007 i come across this oneofakind project. Richly peopled, full of conflicts and surprises, the camel bookmobile made me think and feel in all the best ways. Masha hamilton, author of the camel bookmobile, on librarything. In this text we discover what fionawant do in her life, and we know she want to go in kenya for help the population. Aug 26, 2007 pulling back her dark, frizzy hair and securing it with a clip, fi moved to the living room and plopped onto the floor across from devi, who sprawled in a long skirt on the couch. Long before amazon, audible, and other digital book distributors, bookmobiles were bringing literature to peoples doorsteps. Evocative, seamless, and haunting, the camel bookmobile is a powerful saga that challenges our fears of the unknown the camel bookmobile is masha hamilton s third book following her excellent 2004 novel, the distance between us.
For more information about the camel bookmobile, check out the camel book drive. Reading guide for the camel bookmobile by masha hamilton. The camel bookmobile extract fiiona sweeney shoved a pair of rolledup jeans into the corner of her purple duffet bad. Hamiltons captivating third novel after 2004s the distance between us follows fiona sweeney, a 36yearold librarian, from new york to. Masha hamilton establishing a bookmobile in a destitute kenya village, wellintentioned fiona sweeny inadvertently renews a decadesold tribal feud involving a camel powered bookmobile and prior efforts to promote.
This ingenious library is boxed and strapped to a camel. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Looking for adventure, american librarian fiona sweeney travels to northeast kenya to travel by camel bookmobile, bringing books to nomadic peoples caught between the tug of tradition and. Its about a camel book drive mobile library for kids who dont know how to read or write. The unique mobile library operates in the northeast province near the border with somalia. The camel bookmobile follows an american librarian who. The camel bookmobile made its first run almost a decade ago. The camel bookmobile masha hamilton, 2007 harpercollins 336 pp. The quote that compares mosquito love to human love signifies that struggle. Any resem blance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. The unintended consequences filled this book and kept the reader turning pages. I saw jwahirs husband, the teacher matani, with his commitment to the same bookmobile his wife rejects and his desire to father a son. See more ideas about mobile library, books and little free libraries. Please email or write store for pricing and availability information.
Learn more about the real camel book drive and how you can contribute. The bookmobile serves families who have difficulty getting to a library, children and teens in afterschool programs, and many new immigrant families. Its the summer season in chilson, michigan, and the town is packed with tourists ready for a fabulous fourth of july fireworks show. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the camel bookmobile. Three dromedaries trudged through dusty, arid northeastern kenya near the border with somalia to bring a library to settlements so tiny and farflung theyd become nearly invisible. The website of the camel bookmobile by author masha hamilton home page. Deeply moving and thoughtful, with brave, wise characters with moral. Based on actual events, the camel bookmobile tells. Pulling back her dark, frizzy hair and securing it with a clip, fi moved to the living room and plopped onto the.