The Lower RiverEllis Hock never believed that he would return to Africa. He runs an old-fashioned menswear store in a small town in Massachusetts but still dreams of his Eden, the four years he spent in Malawi with the Peace Corps, cut short when he had to return to take over the family business. When his wife leaves him, and he is on his own, he realizes that there is one place for him to go: back to his village in Malawi, on the remote Lower River, where he can be happy again. Arriving at the dusty village, he finds it transformed: the school he built is a ruin, the church and clinic are gone, and poverty and apathy have set in among the people. They remember him--the White Man with no fear of snakes--and welcome him. But is his new life, his journey back, an escape or a trap? |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - starbox - LibraryThingEllis Hock is a 62 year old American. His marriage is over, his business is failing...he recalls the happiest time of his life, as a young man in the Peace Corps, teaching in Malawi. He longs to ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - JBreedlove - LibraryThingTaken from PT's experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer the book is a statement about the futility of helping those who won't help themselves and the harm done by those who want to affect poverty in ... Read full review
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Bibliographic information
| Title | The Lower River |
| Author | Paul Theroux |
| Edition | reprint |
| Publisher | Penguin Books, 2013 |
| ISBN | 0241957745, 9780241957745 |
| Length | 323 pages |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |