In the Shadow of the Sacred Grove

Rating:
Summary: Update on Kalikaha
Review: I have gone back to Kalikaha many times since my stay there in 1982. In 1992 the village was platted and new quarters were built. We bought two lots and built a round house with a thatched roof held up by a central pole. Donnisongui lives next door and looks after it when we are not there. His oldest daughter has finished school and become a schoolteacher. His son Tenena, who was five when I first visited, is now a strapping young man, who does the heaviest work in Donni's fields and is serving as a poro initiate. Adama still works as our interpreter and research assistant when we stay in the village. His daughter Nawa has a son of her own so he has recently become a grandfather. The villagers are hoping to get electricity in the village, but six years after they platted the village, it still has not arrived. Many of the older people who are in the book are no longer alive, although I did have the pleasure of visiting with Natagari and Mariam this summer. One of the most remarkable experiences for me has been taking my children (now ten and thirteen) to Kalikaha for stays of various lengths. When they are there, they absorb Senufo culture and become hard-working, respectful to all elders, and extremely generous. Unfortunately, when we return to the States, they turn into normal American kids again. Tom has continued his reaearch in this village and I feel grateful that we have been able to maintain our ties with people there. I also feel very pleased that so many people still read my book -- both on their own and in African studies, art history, and anthropology classes. I read essays on my local NPR station, teach creative nonfiction at the University of Illinois and at the University of Iowa in the summers, and have a new book called Dancing at Halftime coming out in 1999.

Rating:
Summary: Africa made beautiful
Review: Spindel's book humanizes and softens our often bleak view of Africa. The adventures of the American student of West African language and culture remind us that people are not so different as they seem. Furthermore, she reminds us that before European interference, there was gentility and natural wealth in African society.

Highly recommended for those readers who desire another perspective on the continent's people.

Rating:
Summary: In the shadow of the sacred grove
Review: This book in incredible. I read the book while in the Ivory Coast and can account for it's authenticity. In fact, I have read it over three times as it brings back the culture and the people that are so dear to my heart. Through her incredible writing skills the author brings Africa to life and provides a more complete accurate picture of West Africa. Excellent book, a definite must read.

Rating:
Summary: In the shadow of the sacred grove
Review: This is an extraordinarily sensitive portrait of a West African village. The writer really made the effort to know and understand her environment, and it pays off in a warm and tender account of her experience that brings the people and the culture vividly to life. I read this book six years ago, in preparation for a trip to Africa, and the strong sense of place she evokes stays with me still.

Rating:
Summary: Stayed with me for years
Review: This is an extraordinarily sensitive portrait of a West African village. The writer really made the effort to know and understand her environment, and it pays off in a warm and tender account of her experience that brings the people and the culture vividly to life. I read this book six years ago, in preparation for a trip to Africa, and the strong sense of place she evokes stays with me still.