Tiny Sunbirds Far Away

For those of you interested in the travelogue side of things, I’m now in Nevada with the family, having driven down from Salt Lake City to Bryce Canyon on Tuesday and then arrived in Las Vegas via the Grand Canyon today. All a bit surreal in some ways –  visiting unbelievably spectacular scenery at Bryce and Grand Canyons during the day, and then on to the unbelievably ostentatious brashness and loudness of Vegas for the night. I know which I prefer, but it is an integral part of this bit of US, and we were just passing through!!!!

Anyway, I’ve just finished reading a book that I would like to recommend to anyone interested in life in Africa, or specifically Nigeria. Entitled ‘Tiny Sunbirds Far Away’ and written by Christie Watson, it tells the story of a Nigerian family through the voice of the 12 year old daughter, and charts their journey through life as it becomes impacted by the father having an adulterous relationship, and the subsequent fall from grace for the mother and children who have to return to the rural home of the maternal grandparents.

As the story progresses, we get insights into many aspects of life in rural Nigeria, some of which I recognize from my travels to other African countries, and some of which are unique to Nigeria.

Set in modern day Nigeria, it covers issues such as access to education for children in poverty, realities of living in a rural setting and the massive contrasts with urban life, female genital mutilation, practices of traditional birth attendants and medicine, impact of rural faith systems, polygamy, and the issues surrounding the impact of the Nigerian oil industry that is run by Western companies but so acutely affects local economies, politics, and ways of life.

It’s certainly a thought-provoking book, and has a good mix of humour, reflective moments, and some sad times. I found it to be very hard to put down once I’d got going, and I hope that others of you who have a love of Africa will get as much pleasure from reading it as I did.