 "One of the best PC books ever written" | 2007-02-28 |
| - Reviewed By Africaphile from Glens Falls, NY |
| If you want to cast moral judgement on George Packer, don't read this book. If you want to read the best Peace Corps book ever written, at least about life in Africa, then pick up this book. I lived in Guinea in the mid-90s, while Packer was in Togo in the early 80s. Yet I felt like he was describing my own village, my own frustrations, my own thoughts and feelings (save the prostitute). This was the book that convinced me not to write a book about my own experience. He did it, only better. |
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| "Must read for World Savers" | 2005-12-05 |
| - Reviewed By bethannsbooks |
| I spent 6 months in Africa while in college and was seriously considering joining the Peace Corps when I came across Packer's book. I was very realistic about the comic grind that is day-to-day life in Africa and the maze of paperwork, mind-numbing waiting for mundane administrative tasks to be accomplished and pervasive acceptance of inefficiency. However, Packer's book really brought home to me the toll of isolation takes on your ability to cope with these realities. Early on, Packer states that Peace Corps volunteers fall into 2 categories, the world savers and the folks that just to try to help in a small way and enjoy the experience. Packer recognizes he falls into the second category and even the detachment humor and a bit of cynicism can not protect him from the inequities and pain of life in pre-AIDS ridden Africa. I thought the book was honest and is on my list of 'must reads' for those thinking about committing full time to any volunteer group. |
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 "A book of little inherent value." | 2005-08-29 |
| - Reviewed By shannon p. |
I have to disagree with every review written about this book thusfar. It is not well written, for one. The style is amateurish, and it has little substance.
But that's not what really bothers me about this book. What really bothers me is that he writes about soliciting a prostitute that he describes as having a "twelve-year-old's body." Another thing that bothered me was that George Packer dropped out of the Peace Corps without even telling his so-called friends in the village that he was leaving. He wasted the opportunity that was given to him, wrote a mediocre book about it, and yet reviewers come on Amazon.com and laud it.
Want some free advice? Read any other book about Africa, Togo, or the Peace Corps instead. This one is not very good. |
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| "Profound in its Simplicity" | 2003-09-15 |
| - Reviewed By jjdash23 from San Diego, CA United States |
| George Packer's ability to describe the lives of many who live in Togo make this piece of text a must-read for all, even for those who do not have an interest in serving in the Peace Corps. He writes with raw emotion and sincerity, without a tad of pretense. I'd say that Packer's foremost accomplishment in this text is that he makes no attempt to tell a story about how a superior white individual intervenes in a remote village and rids the residents of poverty and illiteracy. Rather, The Village of Waiting is a sincere account of his realization that sadly, some things just cannot be altered. I think Packer knew this from the outset, but it is interesting to read about he endures this realization during his 2-year service in Togo. |
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| "Incredible" | 2002-12-21 |
| - Reviewed By Anonymous |
| Haunting--this book is raw and hontest. I can't get it off my mind. Will be visiting friends doing VSO in northern Ghana soon and am trying to get a copy for them as well. |
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| "Togo: still crazy after all these years" | 2002-04-18 |
| - Reviewed By GGW from Washington, DC United States |
| I read a tattered, much passed around copy of Village of Waiting in my Peace Corps house in a village not far from George Packer's. I just returned in October 2001. Hard to imagine that after nearly twenty years, so much of what Packer wrote about Togo has not changed very much. . . Togo still waits. When people ask me about Togo, I'm still not sure what to say. I imagine Packer is still unsure. All I can say is that it is easy to give up on Togo, quite another thing to give up on its people. Packer's reflections of life in Lavie provide a lot of insight into the life of a Peace Corps Volunteer. This is a book that many PCVs either love or hate. Although it must be said that they seem to hate it when they arrive in Togo, and love it if they read or re-read it later, especially after leaving Togo. Many PCVs have complained that he was too soft, and couldn't handle it, but it is my impression that Packer really understood his reality and that is what made it so hard for him to handle it everyday. He understood the absurdity and hardship, and did not romanticize it. It made him angry. I know how he felt. I often wondered about the characters in Packer's book, as I zoomed through Lavie on my way up-country. Luckily, this new print has some follow-up on the many characters of his village. |
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