Monique and the Mango Rains is my fourth (!) book from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. And to think that I once dispaired to get a single book. I feel positively spoiled now (but don’t stop sending them publishers!). I was excited that I got selected for this particular title because Amazon has been recommending it to me for a while now, and I was curious to see what it was all about.
Monique and the Mango Rains is subtitled “Two Years with a Midwife in Mali”, which gives you a pretty good idea of what the books about. The author, Kris Holloway, was a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali in 1989/90. She was in a small village and her host was the village midwife (and the Monique in the title). Kris and Monique had a great friendship, which really comes through in the book. She also does a good job of giving a basic overview of Mali’s history, village life, and a clear idea of what childbirth is like in Mali (and one would imagine other impoverished areas without extensive medical care). The book really shows the troubles of this area without being preachy or condescending. I really enjoyed it. (And it was a quick read! I finished it in a day and a half.) Recommended.
