Book Reviews - "Jambo, Mama: Memories of Africa"

Jambo, Mama: Memories of Africa by Melinda Atwood: In 1987, Melinda flies to Nairobi, and rents a house for what she thinks will be for a one year hiatus from family stresses back in New York. However, she ends up buying a local carpet business, buying and renovating an old house, and staying for six years. One of the reviews on Melinda's website (www.jambomama.com) says "Forget Karen Blixen, this is "Out of Africa"… for the next millennium!" So it is, right down to Melinda's financial situation, which allows her to rent a home in the upmarket neighbourhood of Karen, named for its most famous resident Karen Blixen, and owned by Kenya's president. Her terrace has a 180 degree view of Karen Blixen's beloved Ngong Hills. But there is nothing that says you have to be a lowly paid aid worker in Africa to have the best insights. Despite Melinda's privileged status, she can't escape the heartache that Africa dishes out. One of her employees dies painfully from burns she receives in a house fire and her house - keeper, who was really her best friend in Kenya, dies young too. All in all, Melinda pays her dues over the years and earns her stripes to know enough about Kenya and Kenyans to write about both in minute and honest detail. That she leaves out so few observations about daily life in Nairobi makes it a great read for anyone going to live in Kenya, even though some time has passed. For the closed community which is Karen, probably the greatest change over the years has been the increase in traffic.

Melinda appears to shares another similarity with Karen Blixen, and that is a vulnerability for charming, daring men with commitment and loyalty issues. Melinda explains her ill fated relationship with a terminally married man as the result of loneliness, which may have been a big factor for Karen Blixen too. Unfortunately, Melinda doesn't dump her scoundrel until the end of the book (and he survives, no romantic legacy fixed by a plane crash), long after this strong woman who has shown herself capable of starting over alone has thoroughly annoyed me.

27-05-2009