- Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: Flamingo; New Ed edition (15 Nov 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0006551955
- ISBN-13: 978-0006551959
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 423,878 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Cameroon with Egbert tells the story of a journey through the remote areas of Cameroon undertaken by indomitable author Dervla Murphy and her daughter Rachel, accompanied by an endearing horse named Egbert.
During the course of their wanderings they are frequently mistaken for husband and wife, forcing Dervla to bare her chest to prove her femininity; they continually get lost, are obliged to eat repulsive local delicacies; are arrested, fall ill, are baked by the sun and soaked by tropical storms and, disastrously, lose Egbert.
The two women’s charm, wit and sense of adventure shine through all these setbacks, which would have daunted lesser travellers. They eventually leave this laid-back, peaceful country with great reluctance, having been ‘enspelled’ by its beauty and the friendliness of the Cameroonians.
‘Anyone who has read a book by this author will want to read another. She brings to Cameroon all the sympathy, wit and perception that we have come to expect from her.’ Sunday Telegraph
This is vintage Murphy’ Irish Independent
‘This is the very stuff of travel’ Irish Times
From the Back Cover
Accompanied by her laconic teenage daughter, Rachel, and an endearing horse named Egbert, Dervla Murphy journeys through the remote areas of Cameroon following bush-paths from village to village. The two women are frequently mistaken for husband and wife – forcing Dervla to bare her chest in order to prove her femininity. They are obliged to eat repulsive delicacies, repeatedly get lost, fall seriously ill, are baked by the sun and soaked by tropical storms. Camping in the idiosyncratically beautiful Mbabo Mountains, where they seek warthogs, antelope, baboons and colobus monkeys, is a highlight of the trip. An unplanned and harrowing trek through the 'graveyard area' around Lake Nyos (a recent mysterious explosion has released poisonous gases, killing hundreds) results in their arrest, and towards the end of their journey they disastrously lose Egbert – the final stage of their trek is a three-day forced march covering 87 miles.
But through it all the two women's charm and good-humoured sense of adventure shine through. They eventually leave this laid-back, peaceful country with great reluctance, having been 'enspelled' by its beauty and the unfailing friendliness of its people. The resulting account is warm, witty and wonderfully evocative.
“This is the very stuff of travel”
IRISH TIMES
“Dervla Murphy is a celebrated travel-writer . . . she records every experience with madcap enthusiasm”
THE TIMES
“This is vintage Murphy”
IRISH INDEPENDENT
“Dervla Murphy brings to Cameroon all the sympathy, wit and perception that we have come to expect from her”
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Murphy triumphs again with a refreshing outlook on an otherwise little known about west African country. A desire to traverse the breadth of Cameroon, jungle, highlands and all, with just enough pre-planning to make it possible, the indisputably female Murphy travels from village to village with her daughter and Egbert, a local horse of a certain resilience. Sometimes relying on local beer for breakfast, always relying on Egbert, a well detailed account unfolds portraying beautifully life in the bush of a country whose ego is some way ahead of reality for the vast majority. There are nice descriptions of what are essentially typical mud-hut villages, with plenty of local contact to provide a good insight as to what these people do with their lives, as well as drinking local beer! Lovely descriptions of local flora and fauna paint vivid African pictures in the mind that leave you far removed from life in your armchair. All good travel stories have a disaster, which this does too, though the ending is a happy and fitting one.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
A great book!
29 Jan 2005
Format:Paperback
This is the adventure of an Irish mother-daughter traveling team as they wander across Cameroon with their horse, Egbert. Their long, beautiful, exasperating tale will cause you to laugh and learn. Cameroon is a beautiful and colorful country with incredibly varied geography and cultures. My Cameroonian husband tended to scoff at the things I read to him from the book, but as a foreigner I found this book incredibly insightful and helpful.
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