História, História:
Two Years in the Cape Verde Islands by Eleanor Stanford
Publisher: CCLap Publishing
Publication Date: March 2013
Categories: Memoir, Travel
Source: CCLap Publishing
Description:
Twenty-two and newly married, Eleanor Stanford and her husband join the Peace Corps and find themselves on the West African islands of Cape Verde. In this beautifully alien place, as she teaches her students and struggles to come to terms with the island’s fascinating yet frustrating culture, Eleanor watches everything she knows about relationships get flipped upside-down and attempts to hide the eating disorder she’s developed, which threatens both her marriage and her life. Part travelogue, part cultural documentary, Historia, Historia combines journalistic excellence with the gripping style of personal memoirs to bring you this lyrical, moving portrait of an enchanting, little-glimpsed geography. Fans of factually informative and emotionally moving nonfiction will be drawn towards this haunting meditation on love, fidelity and self-image.
My Thoughts:
História, História is a small book that leaves a big impression.
Stanford’s writing is graceful and rhythmic. The sentences reeled me in to her time on Cape Verde. Her descriptions of the place, the food, and the people made me want to explore it for myself.
Eleanor and her husband are doing good work through the Peace Corp. Sadly, giving time to such a worthwhile cause doesn’t make your own problems go away. Eleanor is dealing with a crumbling marriage and a burgeoning eating disorder.
I felt a sense of guilt in the author. She’s in a land where solid marriages seem to be few and far between, education is lacking and food isn’t always plentiful. Those facts don’t lessen Stanford’s issues but they do put things into perspective.
Melancholy and luscious, História, História is a worthwhile read.
The Relentless Reader 