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The Prophet's Camel Bell: A Memoir of Somaliland
When Margaret Laurence set out for Somaliland with her engineer husband in 1950, she confronted the difficulty of communication between peoples of vastly different cultures. Yet she came to know the skilled orators, poets and craftsmen of the country, and to share the vision of a people’s struggle for survival in a barren land.
The Prophet’s Camel Bell is part travelogue, part autobiography, part celebration of human nature, and essential reading for anyone who has ever been a stranger in a strange land.
The Prophet’s Camel Bell is part travelogue, part autobiography, part celebration of human nature, and essential reading for anyone who has ever been a stranger in a strange land.
254 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1963
11 people are currently reading
358 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Laurence
47 books413 followersCanada's classic authoress was born Jean Margaret Wemyss on July 18, 1926 in the prairie town of Neepawa, Manitoba, Canada. Her Mom, Verna, passed away early. Her Aunt Margaret helped her Father take care of her for a year, then they married and had a Son. Their Father died two years afterwards. Aunt Margaret was a Mother to her, raising the kids in theirr maternal Grandfather's home.
Margaret wrote stories in elementary school. Her professional writing career began in 1943 with a job at the town newspaper and continued in 1944, when she entered the Honours English program at Winnipeg's United College (University Of Winnipeg.) After graduating in 1947, she was hired as a reporter for The Winnipeg Citizen. That year, she married Jack Laurence, a civil engineer.
Jack's profession took the couple to England, Somalia, and eventually Ghana, where Margaret gained an appreciation for Africa and the storytelling traditions of its peoples. It was in Africa that their children, Jocelyn and David, were born, and when Margaret began to work seriously on her writing. Her book of essays about and translations of Somali poetry and prose was published in 1954 as A Tree for Poverty. A collection of short stories, The Tomorrow-Tamer, as well as a novel, This Side Jordan (both focusing on African subjects) were published after Margaret returned home to Canada. Her fiction was thereafter concerned with Canadian subjects, but she maintained her interest in African literature and in 1968 published a critical analysis of Nigerian literature, Long Drums and Cannons: Nigerian Dramatists and Novelists 1952-1966. Present in her African works is a concern with the ethical dilemma of being a white colonialist living in colonial Africa.
In 1957, Margaret and her family moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, for five years. In 1962, Margaret & Jack divorced. She moved to London, England for a year, followed by a cottage in Buckinghamshire for ten years, although she visited Canada often. During this period, Margaret wrote her first works with Canadian subject matter.
"The Stone Angel" was published in 1964, and was the first of her "Manawaka novels", the fictional prairie community modelled after her hometown of Neepawa, Manitoba. It was followed by "A Jest Of God" in 1966 (for which she won her first Governor General's Award,) "The Fire-Dwellers" in 1969, and "A Bird In The House" in 1970. Margaret received critical and commercial acclaim in Canada and in 1971, was honoured by being named a Companion to the Order of Canada.
In the early 1970s, she returned to Canada and settled in Lakefield, Ontario. She continued to write and was writer-in-residence at the University Of Toronto, the University Of Western Ontario, and Trent University. In 1974, Margaret completed her final novel, "The Diviners", for which she received the Governor General's Award and the Molson Prize. It was followed by a book of essays, Heart Of A Stranger" in 1976 and several children's books: "Jason's Quest", "The Olden-Days Coat", "Six Darn Cows", and "The Christmas Birthday Story". Her autobiography "Dance On The Earth" was published in 1987.
Margaret died on January 5, 1987 at her home in Lakefield, after learning her lung cancer diagnosis was terminal. She is buried in Neepawa Cemetery, a few metres from the stone angel which inspired her novel.
Margaret wrote stories in elementary school. Her professional writing career began in 1943 with a job at the town newspaper and continued in 1944, when she entered the Honours English program at Winnipeg's United College (University Of Winnipeg.) After graduating in 1947, she was hired as a reporter for The Winnipeg Citizen. That year, she married Jack Laurence, a civil engineer.
Jack's profession took the couple to England, Somalia, and eventually Ghana, where Margaret gained an appreciation for Africa and the storytelling traditions of its peoples. It was in Africa that their children, Jocelyn and David, were born, and when Margaret began to work seriously on her writing. Her book of essays about and translations of Somali poetry and prose was published in 1954 as A Tree for Poverty. A collection of short stories, The Tomorrow-Tamer, as well as a novel, This Side Jordan (both focusing on African subjects) were published after Margaret returned home to Canada. Her fiction was thereafter concerned with Canadian subjects, but she maintained her interest in African literature and in 1968 published a critical analysis of Nigerian literature, Long Drums and Cannons: Nigerian Dramatists and Novelists 1952-1966. Present in her African works is a concern with the ethical dilemma of being a white colonialist living in colonial Africa.
In 1957, Margaret and her family moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, for five years. In 1962, Margaret & Jack divorced. She moved to London, England for a year, followed by a cottage in Buckinghamshire for ten years, although she visited Canada often. During this period, Margaret wrote her first works with Canadian subject matter.
"The Stone Angel" was published in 1964, and was the first of her "Manawaka novels", the fictional prairie community modelled after her hometown of Neepawa, Manitoba. It was followed by "A Jest Of God" in 1966 (for which she won her first Governor General's Award,) "The Fire-Dwellers" in 1969, and "A Bird In The House" in 1970. Margaret received critical and commercial acclaim in Canada and in 1971, was honoured by being named a Companion to the Order of Canada.
In the early 1970s, she returned to Canada and settled in Lakefield, Ontario. She continued to write and was writer-in-residence at the University Of Toronto, the University Of Western Ontario, and Trent University. In 1974, Margaret completed her final novel, "The Diviners", for which she received the Governor General's Award and the Molson Prize. It was followed by a book of essays, Heart Of A Stranger" in 1976 and several children's books: "Jason's Quest", "The Olden-Days Coat", "Six Darn Cows", and "The Christmas Birthday Story". Her autobiography "Dance On The Earth" was published in 1987.
Margaret died on January 5, 1987 at her home in Lakefield, after learning her lung cancer diagnosis was terminal. She is buried in Neepawa Cemetery, a few metres from the stone angel which inspired her novel.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
August 4, 2018
Somalia. 1950 - 1952. The blurb:
I loved this experience more than I ever thought I would. My aim was to learn more about a country I hardly knew where to find on a map. The author was a superb choice for getting to know cultures and people I would never meet myself. Google provided the necessary background to this memoir and confirmed the picturesque landscape so meticulously drawn by the author.
I can understand why Margaret Laurence would become a highly respected writer in her homeland of Canada. Her approach to people resonated with me. She had a compassion for other souls and their stories. She was an excellent storyteller in her own right.
Her words enriched my world for a few days. I'm so glad I've met her through this memoir.
RECOMMENDED.
When Margaret Laurence set out for Somaliland with her engineer husband in 1950, she confronted the difficulty of communication between peoples of vastly different cultures. Yet she came to know the skilled orators, poets and craftsmen of the country, and to share the vision of a people’s struggle for survival in a barren land.This is one of those eloquent old-fashioned great reads of people living in a strange land where a potpourri of cultures convened and became dependent on each other, building camaraderie and friendship in unlikely places - building their own linguistic tower of Babel, while acquiring a deep understanding of the human psyche and soul other than one's own.
The Prophet’s Camel Bell is part travelogue, part autobiography, part celebration of human nature, and essential reading for anyone who has ever been a stranger in a strange land.
I loved this experience more than I ever thought I would. My aim was to learn more about a country I hardly knew where to find on a map. The author was a superb choice for getting to know cultures and people I would never meet myself. Google provided the necessary background to this memoir and confirmed the picturesque landscape so meticulously drawn by the author.
I can understand why Margaret Laurence would become a highly respected writer in her homeland of Canada. Her approach to people resonated with me. She had a compassion for other souls and their stories. She was an excellent storyteller in her own right.
Her words enriched my world for a few days. I'm so glad I've met her through this memoir.
RECOMMENDED.
February 7, 2017
Three stars are the extent to which one could term certain subject matter "enjoyable": hunting, starvation of people, cultural preference of males. I have encountered no one more impartial, absorbent, or astute than Margaret Laurence. It was an honour to stand on the stoep of her house only last month: her Manitoba childhood place, not her Somali abodes! If you want a clear, fellow-Canadian view of Somalia, knowledgeably-versed in these people and the Italian and British organizations, by working with them and camping in the same arid land: this is the authoress to read.
This is no travelogue, political treatise, nor "look at those poor people" lament. An intelligent, compassionate, yet stoic lady explains why she and her husband Jack undertook an engineering project to create lifesaving reservoirs near the Ethiopian border from 1950-1952. She additionally completed a personal project: first to publish Somalian poetry and stories; an aural language that had no written form. Famous after, as one of our province's premier fiction novelists: Margaret called "The Prophet's Camel Bell", desert journal and autobiography of her marriage's early years, the most difficult book. I would accord higher marks if the star system were better, ten instead of five and if my rating could single out how well she composed the kind of philosophical and informative book that this is.
Before Margaret and Jack departed for good, the Haud's barren season was broken by early downpours. Following chapters with several mini portraits of the key people they met, my patience was rewarded by closure; a return to the chronological scene in which we started. My favourite part by far was circling back to the finished "ballais", the wells. I enjoyed witnessing Margaret and Jack getting to behold them filled and already in precious use: by those familiar camels and people.
This is no travelogue, political treatise, nor "look at those poor people" lament. An intelligent, compassionate, yet stoic lady explains why she and her husband Jack undertook an engineering project to create lifesaving reservoirs near the Ethiopian border from 1950-1952. She additionally completed a personal project: first to publish Somalian poetry and stories; an aural language that had no written form. Famous after, as one of our province's premier fiction novelists: Margaret called "The Prophet's Camel Bell", desert journal and autobiography of her marriage's early years, the most difficult book. I would accord higher marks if the star system were better, ten instead of five and if my rating could single out how well she composed the kind of philosophical and informative book that this is.
Before Margaret and Jack departed for good, the Haud's barren season was broken by early downpours. Following chapters with several mini portraits of the key people they met, my patience was rewarded by closure; a return to the chronological scene in which we started. My favourite part by far was circling back to the finished "ballais", the wells. I enjoyed witnessing Margaret and Jack getting to behold them filled and already in precious use: by those familiar camels and people.
May 22, 2017
The author's engineer husband accepted a position in Somaliland to build wells. Margaret went with him and in the course of the stay there she discovered not only knowledge of the country, but also of her self. The disdain she felt for the British "imperialists" changed to understanding and even pity as she came to understand the situation, and that she too fit into that category.
August 4, 2009
Great story about her time in Africa, it really gives one an insight into her thinking
January 12, 2013
Long before she was a Canadian literary icon, Margaret Laurence was an adventurer. Fresh out of college and newly married, she followed her engineer husband to Africa in 1950, where he had been hired to excavate water holes in the desert of the British protectorate of Somaliland. This book is her journal of those first two African years.
Old journals fascinate contemporary travelers because they provide a glimpse into a place and a way of life that has long since vanished. Today Somalia heads the list of failed states as the world’s least governable country. Laurence’s observations foreshadowed aspects of that turbulent future: the argumentativeness of the tribes, the harsh poverty of a land baked barren by the desert sun, mistrust of outsiders, and a stubborn pride that never accepted the yoke of colonialism.
But she also discovered a culture of complex poetry in a land where every elaborately-structured verse had to be memorized, and where eloquence was prized above all virtues except those of the warrior. She witnessed the people’s desperate struggle for survival during the long hot season, and the time of rains when thirst was met with murderous floods.
Forever uneasy about her role in Africa, Laurence’s self-reflective observations of the colonial mindset are important reading for those of us who feel more at home in an alien culture than our own, and who have learned that it's easier to be a stranger in a strange place than a stranger in your own land.
Old journals fascinate contemporary travelers because they provide a glimpse into a place and a way of life that has long since vanished. Today Somalia heads the list of failed states as the world’s least governable country. Laurence’s observations foreshadowed aspects of that turbulent future: the argumentativeness of the tribes, the harsh poverty of a land baked barren by the desert sun, mistrust of outsiders, and a stubborn pride that never accepted the yoke of colonialism.
But she also discovered a culture of complex poetry in a land where every elaborately-structured verse had to be memorized, and where eloquence was prized above all virtues except those of the warrior. She witnessed the people’s desperate struggle for survival during the long hot season, and the time of rains when thirst was met with murderous floods.
Forever uneasy about her role in Africa, Laurence’s self-reflective observations of the colonial mindset are important reading for those of us who feel more at home in an alien culture than our own, and who have learned that it's easier to be a stranger in a strange place than a stranger in your own land.
May 3, 2018
I hate Autobiographies and memoirs, etc and shit. Coz they drag and drag, without humor, without interest, trying to prove a point, explaining experiences through logic. Not that I haven't tried. Saying that, I glanced at this book at an old book store, quickly checked its price on amazon and it wasn't on print in India then. That and knowing about an African place, Somalia (I have travelled and lived for a while in Kenya, Uganda, SA, Moz, etc), this was a curious pick. The author's writing style took some time to absorb, but boy, she writes too well. The characters that she had described, communicate the essence of the culture, lingo of the Somalis. Few ones like Mohamed, Arabetto will stay with me forever. Love this one. I highly recommend it.
August 11, 2015
Very insightful and interesting views on the Somali race and history.
One line she makes about wondering if the Somalis will survive to procreate while the western world falls Makes one think. Also that this book is over 50 years old and not much has changed.
Why oh why do we feel the need to interfere?
One line she makes about wondering if the Somalis will survive to procreate while the western world falls Makes one think. Also that this book is over 50 years old and not much has changed.
Why oh why do we feel the need to interfere?
January 31, 2022
In this time of confrontation and reflection how should a reader approach The Prophet’s Camel Bell – a book based on two years Margaret Laurence spent in Somaliland (1950-1952) while her husband worked for the British colonial government building water catchment structures in the desert? Both Laurence and her husband were Canadians in their mid-twenties with no previous experience of Africa. They were neophytes: bright and open-minded but nonetheless Westerners with Western values and understandings. Does that make them agents of colonial oppression; naïve, yes, but oppressors all the same? Or were they well-meaning young adults trying to do good works based on their view – a Western view – of the Good? Or were they just strangers grabbing an opportunity to work and live in a land they found challenging, intriguing and strange.
Published in 1963, more than 10 years after Laurence left Somaliland, The Prophet’s Camel Bell has four distinct sections. The first seven chapters and the last tell the story of Laurence’s trip to and life in Somaliland. Laurence is a fine writer and these chapters, based in part on her diaries from the time, are vivid, evocative and compelling. She tells a good story and the book is worth reading for these chapters alone. The ignorance and ineptitude of Laurence and her husband are revealed with some gentleness as they bump up against the attitudes of the British and other foreigners, as well as the very alien world view of the Somalis. Fitting in with either side was not an option given the character of these two young Canadians. Readers can be grateful for this social awkwardness as it provided the raw material for a much richer story given Laurence’s perceptiveness and writing skills. The land, the Somalis and the foreigners are all portrayed with intelligence and a healthy dose of distance. Laurence does not pretend to know what she does not or cannot know. But she does note the gaps.
The second section of the book comprises five middle chapters which focus on specific individuals Laurence encountered during her stay. These chapters attempt to give a more rounded view of some central characters in the story. Whether these chapters are as perceptive and honest as Laurence may have wished them to be is something the reader will never know. There are moments when the distance provided by time has helped Laurence gain perspective, but perhaps not the full perspective she might have achieved a decade or two later. In particular, the chapter entitled “The Old Warrior” provides an uncomfortable portrait of an older Somali, Abdi, attempting to gain and maintain some status and dignity in the face of the colonialist power. It is not clear whether Laurence and her husband fully appreciated his character, motivations or social position. That is a common enough human challenge – whether in a colonial situation or not; but it is especially poignant here, in this book, when read seventy years later.
The third section is a chapter on Somali poetry and tales. While her husband got on with his engineering project, Laurence dedicated considerable time and effort to learning Somali and attempting to gather poems and tales for translation. The end result was a book entitled, A Tree for Poverty, Somali poetry and prose, published in 1954. The thirteenth chapter in The Prophet’s Camel Bell includes some poems and tales, presumably from this earlier publication. It is an interesting chapter that definitely deserved to be included, especially given the light it sheds on Laurence herself: her interests and talent.
Finally, there is a chapter entitled “The Imperialists” which attempts to distinguish Laurence and her husband from some of the other employees of the colonial government. Laurence also talks about the possible differences between colonialists, explorers, wanderers and people who simply want to live elsewhere than where they were born. This comment captures part of Laurence’s struggle to come to grips with who these diverse Europeans and North Americans might be:
“This was something of an irony for me, to have started out in righteous disapproval of the empire-builders, and to have been forced at last to recognize that I, too, had been of that company.”
It is up to each reader to assess whether Laurence fully understood the character and impact of the many strangers who travelled to Somaliland and other foreign places over the centuries. Travel is a human trait not limited to any particular culture or geographic region. In any event, it is important to recall that she wrote this book in 1962 and published it in 1963. She was alert to the issues and realities of exploration, trade and colonization. The Prophet’s Camel Bell can provide both entertainment and insight to any reader who cares to read it with an open mind.
Published in 1963, more than 10 years after Laurence left Somaliland, The Prophet’s Camel Bell has four distinct sections. The first seven chapters and the last tell the story of Laurence’s trip to and life in Somaliland. Laurence is a fine writer and these chapters, based in part on her diaries from the time, are vivid, evocative and compelling. She tells a good story and the book is worth reading for these chapters alone. The ignorance and ineptitude of Laurence and her husband are revealed with some gentleness as they bump up against the attitudes of the British and other foreigners, as well as the very alien world view of the Somalis. Fitting in with either side was not an option given the character of these two young Canadians. Readers can be grateful for this social awkwardness as it provided the raw material for a much richer story given Laurence’s perceptiveness and writing skills. The land, the Somalis and the foreigners are all portrayed with intelligence and a healthy dose of distance. Laurence does not pretend to know what she does not or cannot know. But she does note the gaps.
The second section of the book comprises five middle chapters which focus on specific individuals Laurence encountered during her stay. These chapters attempt to give a more rounded view of some central characters in the story. Whether these chapters are as perceptive and honest as Laurence may have wished them to be is something the reader will never know. There are moments when the distance provided by time has helped Laurence gain perspective, but perhaps not the full perspective she might have achieved a decade or two later. In particular, the chapter entitled “The Old Warrior” provides an uncomfortable portrait of an older Somali, Abdi, attempting to gain and maintain some status and dignity in the face of the colonialist power. It is not clear whether Laurence and her husband fully appreciated his character, motivations or social position. That is a common enough human challenge – whether in a colonial situation or not; but it is especially poignant here, in this book, when read seventy years later.
The third section is a chapter on Somali poetry and tales. While her husband got on with his engineering project, Laurence dedicated considerable time and effort to learning Somali and attempting to gather poems and tales for translation. The end result was a book entitled, A Tree for Poverty, Somali poetry and prose, published in 1954. The thirteenth chapter in The Prophet’s Camel Bell includes some poems and tales, presumably from this earlier publication. It is an interesting chapter that definitely deserved to be included, especially given the light it sheds on Laurence herself: her interests and talent.
Finally, there is a chapter entitled “The Imperialists” which attempts to distinguish Laurence and her husband from some of the other employees of the colonial government. Laurence also talks about the possible differences between colonialists, explorers, wanderers and people who simply want to live elsewhere than where they were born. This comment captures part of Laurence’s struggle to come to grips with who these diverse Europeans and North Americans might be:
“This was something of an irony for me, to have started out in righteous disapproval of the empire-builders, and to have been forced at last to recognize that I, too, had been of that company.”
It is up to each reader to assess whether Laurence fully understood the character and impact of the many strangers who travelled to Somaliland and other foreign places over the centuries. Travel is a human trait not limited to any particular culture or geographic region. In any event, it is important to recall that she wrote this book in 1962 and published it in 1963. She was alert to the issues and realities of exploration, trade and colonization. The Prophet’s Camel Bell can provide both entertainment and insight to any reader who cares to read it with an open mind.
February 24, 2026
While some parts were quite strong, this non-fiction tale of Laurence's time in Somalia falls off a narrative line and loses focus half way. We are given some wonderful thoughts on colonialism and relationships in Africa, but the author sort of loses herself and nearly forgets about the birth of her children.
September 18, 2017
For a few years in the 1950s, Margaret Laurence and her then husband Jack lived in Africa where Jack was working as a civil engineer. The first two of those years, in Somalia, are the subject of this book.
I haven't read much of Laurence's work, just one novel, The Stone Angel, which I liked very much. This book is as different as fiction can be from memoir and yet much the same tone of writing. She's a serious writer, not lacking a sense of humour, but not indulging it very often either. There's a satisfying solidity to her writing that makes you feel you're reading something of significance.
Laurence does a good job of describing life in the African desert with all it's challenges. And such challenges there were. Drought, dangerous wildlife, tribal conflict, monsoons and the ongoing shortages of what we'd call necessities were all a part of her daily life. She didn't like the way the British and other foreigners treated the Somalis and she tried to walk a fine line between the two very different groups of people, never really fitting into either, but always trying to make the best of a frequently uncomfortable situation.
What I was more impressed with, though, was her insight into human nature and her acceptance of the African people as people and not just 'Somalis', as some saw them. She seems to have been very open to learning about a culture vastly different than her own and adjusting her behaviour accordingly. She made mistakes and sometimes it took a long time to realize them but she wasn't afraid to admit them and make things right. I loved her honesty in those situations, and I respect the way she tried to fit into Somali culture rather than trying to force them into hers.
I probably wouldn't have picked this up if our book club hadn't decided to read it, but I'm glad now that they did. It was interesting as a memoir and also very good as travel literature. A good travel book will make you feel like you've been there; by that standard, this one is a success.
I haven't read much of Laurence's work, just one novel, The Stone Angel, which I liked very much. This book is as different as fiction can be from memoir and yet much the same tone of writing. She's a serious writer, not lacking a sense of humour, but not indulging it very often either. There's a satisfying solidity to her writing that makes you feel you're reading something of significance.
Laurence does a good job of describing life in the African desert with all it's challenges. And such challenges there were. Drought, dangerous wildlife, tribal conflict, monsoons and the ongoing shortages of what we'd call necessities were all a part of her daily life. She didn't like the way the British and other foreigners treated the Somalis and she tried to walk a fine line between the two very different groups of people, never really fitting into either, but always trying to make the best of a frequently uncomfortable situation.
What I was more impressed with, though, was her insight into human nature and her acceptance of the African people as people and not just 'Somalis', as some saw them. She seems to have been very open to learning about a culture vastly different than her own and adjusting her behaviour accordingly. She made mistakes and sometimes it took a long time to realize them but she wasn't afraid to admit them and make things right. I loved her honesty in those situations, and I respect the way she tried to fit into Somali culture rather than trying to force them into hers.
I probably wouldn't have picked this up if our book club hadn't decided to read it, but I'm glad now that they did. It was interesting as a memoir and also very good as travel literature. A good travel book will make you feel like you've been there; by that standard, this one is a success.
December 8, 2012
This memoir includes Somalian superstition and folk tales.She is writing about her time in Somalia,with her husband,who was contracted in the late 1940's early 1950's,to assist with
the constructions of their roads.As an engineer,her husband was requested by the British to
establish a viable infrastructure for Somalians.Margaret Laurence spent a lot of her time by herself.She spent much of her time with the workers' families.
She writes with affection about this time of her life.She loves hanging with the Italians at their
consulate club and is critical of the British snobbery.While she is there she decides to document the rich culture of the Somalians and the lyrical stories of the Moslem people.As you you might suspect ,I fell in love with this book,I hope you do to.
the constructions of their roads.As an engineer,her husband was requested by the British to
establish a viable infrastructure for Somalians.Margaret Laurence spent a lot of her time by herself.She spent much of her time with the workers' families.
She writes with affection about this time of her life.She loves hanging with the Italians at their
consulate club and is critical of the British snobbery.While she is there she decides to document the rich culture of the Somalians and the lyrical stories of the Moslem people.As you you might suspect ,I fell in love with this book,I hope you do to.
November 28, 2015
Really enjoyed this early book of Margaret Laurence's - Her "Diviners" is one of my all time favourites. Here, she tells of her time in Somali with her engineer husband in the early 1950s - a fascinating perspective of the country and its people during the years that the British were administrating it. She wonders what will happen when they have self-rule, forseeing some of the obvious difficulties and problems.
Having spent enough time travelling and staying in ex-colonies to recognize some of her experiences, I very much appreciated her self-deprecation as she looked back and recognized her own initial naivety. The differences between cultures/societies make enormous and very real barriers that are perhaps not expected. She examines them with her clear and appealing voice.
Having spent enough time travelling and staying in ex-colonies to recognize some of her experiences, I very much appreciated her self-deprecation as she looked back and recognized her own initial naivety. The differences between cultures/societies make enormous and very real barriers that are perhaps not expected. She examines them with her clear and appealing voice.
July 17, 2021
Laurence's classic gives sympathetic insight into the hopes, traditions, and horrific challenges of old Somalia, as it emerged from colonial rule with a spirit of optimism. As she quotes from the song of the Somali Youth League:
Somalia awake!
Unite the warring tribes
Give help unto the poor
and strengthen the weak
If one of your camels is stolen,
to save it you risk your lives
But for our whole lost land,
no man even raises a stick
Somalia awake!
Unite the warring tribes
Give help unto the poor
and strengthen the weak
If one of your camels is stolen,
to save it you risk your lives
But for our whole lost land,
no man even raises a stick
November 11, 2014
Excellent writing.
February 9, 2025
Åbenbart en rejseskildring.
Overdrivelser i sproget er irriterende, for skal man tro hende i andre situationer?
Kunne være antropologi fra sin tid. Fx beskrives børnene som gekoer. Den slags ville ikke gå i moderne antropologi.
Jeg hopper fra på side 50, da bogen alligevel ikke indgår i 1001 bøger, og da den er som meget antropologi, jeg har læst.
Overdrivelser i sproget er irriterende, for skal man tro hende i andre situationer?
Kunne være antropologi fra sin tid. Fx beskrives børnene som gekoer. Den slags ville ikke gå i moderne antropologi.
Jeg hopper fra på side 50, da bogen alligevel ikke indgår i 1001 bøger, og da den er som meget antropologi, jeg har læst.
May 6, 2019
Wonderful book offering insight into Margaret Laurence herself. This one ought to be made into a movie, I think. Cinematic language, moving themes.
May 20, 2019
Interesting, but a very slow read.
October 10, 2023
Excellent memoir.
August 13, 2015
This is Laurence’s autobiographical account of the seven years she spent in Somaliland with her husband Jack. The year was 1950 and she and Jack had just recently been married. Jack, an engineer was going to this African country to help build wells in the desert. Laurence was excited about the trip and she started out this journey with visions of a great adventure.
This is a book not only about the building project, but also about the early years of a marriage, the challenge of living in a hot land in tents and trucks, the unknown insects and other animals one encounters while living in a foreign country and the challenges of being surrounded by a different culture. But more importantly, it is a book about relationships, particularly those between the Somalis and the “imperialists” and between master and servant.
It is an interesting read, one that I might never have picked up without first encountering several references to it in the letters between Margaret Laurence and Adele Wiseman. In those letters Laurence often talked about the circumstances surrounding this book that she was writing and it provided an interesting lead in for me. Knowing the circumstantial backdrop also makes the entire book come alive.
An intriguing read of Laurence’s early writing.
This is a book not only about the building project, but also about the early years of a marriage, the challenge of living in a hot land in tents and trucks, the unknown insects and other animals one encounters while living in a foreign country and the challenges of being surrounded by a different culture. But more importantly, it is a book about relationships, particularly those between the Somalis and the “imperialists” and between master and servant.
It is an interesting read, one that I might never have picked up without first encountering several references to it in the letters between Margaret Laurence and Adele Wiseman. In those letters Laurence often talked about the circumstances surrounding this book that she was writing and it provided an interesting lead in for me. Knowing the circumstantial backdrop also makes the entire book come alive.
An intriguing read of Laurence’s early writing.
Want to read
August 3, 2010NCL.2006-10-01
March 13, 2014
Can autobiographies have a story arch? Please?
April 26, 2017
Her journal filled with stories about the people of Somaliland accumulated during the 7 years that she and her husband lived there in the 1950's. A harsh land with no resources, not even water during half of each year and as usual a people with pluck exist in these conditions.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews