The Curve of the World

Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable book
Review: I thouroughly enjoyed this tale of a man's struggle to stay alive. I have personally lived in africa for over a decade and have found this book to be very accurate. Stevens has obviously spent time there. I would disagree with another reviewer who said that the story was far fetched in that the african would drop everything to help her. This is not far-fetched, the people in africa are incredibly giving and kind. If you want a book you can't put down and one that tells a nice story and a nice window into the way the conflict is in the congo and how african life is, then read this book, you won't regret it.

Rating:
Summary: Too far-fetched -- spend your time elsewhere
Review: I was very disappointed by this book. That an over-protective mother would twice, voluntarily, take her blind child into a war-zone in Africa to seek out her estranged husband, while her mother is ill and needs attention back in the U.S. is absolutely ridiculous. Secondly, I tired quickly of pages and pages of the author's lengthy, redundant descriptions of the African jungle and the "hero's" trail-blazing and jaunts therein. Thirdly, I learned nothing new about Africa or its people. The successful African businessman who drops his business and deserts his family to lead this woman on a search for her husband, without pay while she pays and overpays every other African person who provides her the least bit of aid, is also beyond belief. This is another unneccessary story partially premised with people who believe money -- U.S. money -- can buy anything anywhere, and, in this case, in Africa. Fourth, I feel little compassion for them as a couple. Neither seem motivated to face squarely the troubles which have caused their marital problems -- the raising of a blind son and the required commitment of each partner to such a task. Nothwithstanding the husband's ability to wander through the jungle dreaming of his son, he shows no evidence of understanding what his wife must endure to raise that son, nor does he show any willingness to change his behavior and aid her in raising HIS son.

I would not recommend this book. There are innumberable books of less the 240 pages which tell a story worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: Adventure and obstacles in the Congo--and in a marriage
Review: Marcus Stevens is an experienced African traveler with the gift of making the Congo so real that even in the chill spring mist of the Pacific Northwest, I felt the steam rise up fron the lush rainforest floor. In "The Curve of the World," Stevens introduces the reader to Lewis Burke, a man successful in his business, but so unsuccessful in relationships that he is estranged from his wife and young, blind son. On a routine flight from Paris to South Africa, Lewis's plane experiences mechanical trouble and is forced to land on a make-shift airstrip surrounded by miles of virgin Congolese rainforest. Will Lewis see his family again? Will he come to understand that the selling of Coca-Cola isn't--or shouldn't be--the most important part of his life? The adventure and education of Lewis in the Congo was so compelling that I read this book almost straight through. Helen, Lewis's independent and gutsy wife who comes to the Congo with her blind, seven-year-old son to find her missing husband, is so well drawn that I'd swear I know her.

Rating:
Summary: Curve of the World or curve of the imagination?
Review: The beginning of this book opened with lots of promise but the plot proved to be weak and boring. The story is about an executive from Coke that is going to Africa on business at the same time that he is separating from his wife. He is having doubts about the separation when the plane develops problems and they are forced to land deep in the Congo. A militia group captures the plane and our hero escapes only to find himself lost in the jungle. The rest of the book is about his journey to stay alive while his wife and blind son attempt to find him. During his jungle survival he keeps having flashback after flashback to the point of boredom. I started skimming them after awhile. He actually does get rescued but goes back in search of the young boy that helped him - an act not very believable at that point. The wife is mostly unable to get anyone to help her find her husband - including either government. Nothing is ever said again about his company - Coke. It seems they would have at least attempted to look for him or at least communicated to his wife - an exclusion that I find most improbable. After finding her husband, the book abruptly ends, never tying up the loose ends woven throughout the story, but at that point one almost doesn't care because one is so ready for the book to end. I gave it two stars only because I did actually finish it.