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The Village of Waiting by George Packer

The Village of Waiting

George Packer

Farrar Straus & Giroux · Paperback · August 1, 2001

Back in print, the "masterful" (The New York Times Book Review) account of an American in West Africa Now restored to print with a new Foreword by Philip Gourevitch and an Afterword by the author, The Village of Waiting is a frank, moving, and vivid account of contemporary life in West Africa.

Cultural Heritage LivesWest African HistoryWest Africa Travelaward
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Who it’s for
A vivid account of village life in Togo, attentive to the long wait for change.
Themes
Contemporary life in West Africa, Rural life and development, Cultural identity and change
Genres
West Africa Travel, Cultural Heritage Lives, West African History

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About this book

Back in print, the "masterful" (The New York Times Book Review) account of an American in West Africa Now restored to print with a new Foreword by Philip Gourevitch and an Afterword by the author, The Village of Waiting is a frank, moving, and vivid account of contemporary life in West Africa.

Continue reading

Stationed as a Peace Corps instructor in the village of Lavié (the name means "wait a little more") in tiny and underdeveloped Togo, George Packer reveals his own schooling at the hands of an unforgettable array of townspeople—peasants, chiefs, charlatans, children, market women, cripples, crazies, and those who, having lost or given up much of their traditional identity and fastened their hopes on "development," find themselves trapped between the familiar repetitions of rural life and the chafing monotony of waiting for change.

Life Between Changes

A vivid account of village life in Togo, attentive to the long wait for change.

Come here for

  • A close look at contemporary life in West Africa
  • The tension between rural rhythms and hopes for development

Expect

  • Frank, moving reflections from a Peace Corps instructor
  • An array of townspeople who complicate easy impressions

Where it sits

West Africa Travel52%
West African History39%
Cultural Heritage Lives35%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Lives in Journalism
  • How Cultures Work
  • West Africa Travel
Authors
George Packer
Publisher
Farrar Straus & Giroux
Published
August 1, 2001
Format
Paperback
Theme
Contemporary life in West Africa · Rural life and development · Cultural identity and change
Reading lane
Lives in Journalism