As an expat who lived and worked in Africa, I was hooked from the moment I read...
But you rejected our visas before you even knew we’d originated in Kenya! Robin didn’t dare introduce logic audibly into this proceeding. Recent years had taught her only too well the lessons of dealing with Third World bureaucracy. Never argue injustice. Never look a uniform in the eye. Grovel humbly and smilingly. Above all, let small-minded, petty officials , especially those carrying automatic weapons, feel as big and powerful and important as necessary to get the job done! (p. 9)
Needless to say, I literally devoured, overnight, the book Congo Dawn by Jeanette Windle.
Robin Duncan, former marine and TCK (third-culture kid), is thoroughly disillusioned with God, life and romance thanks to a former almost boyfriend, and she has just taken on a translating/security job with a private mining firm heading into the Ituri region of the Congo. While not necessarily excited about the opportunity, she felt qualified, believed she'd be helping the struggling economy of the region and was herself anticipating the promised and rather large financial recompense for completion of the mission. Her arrival in Congo, however, sets off a series of complicated, dangerous and life-changing events that she never could have anticipated, beginning with the intrusion/rescue of that almost former boyfriend as she's doing her translating job and trying to secure entry into the country.
The people she meets, the questions she is forced to ask herself (and others) and then the corresponding answers she uncovers in the rain forest and in her own heart - provide readers with an exciting and heart-challenging African adventure.
I highly recommend this quick, although not necessarily easy, read - with one caveat. because of some of the subject matter (i.e. ethnic warfare, violence, corruption and cruelty in this part of the world), it is a book for mature readers.
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