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‘One of the best (books) I have ever read on the difficult relationship between the developed world and the Third World. An eye-opener. Scroggins is as brave as her subject…she has written a wonderful and challenging book.’ William Shawcross, Sunday Times
‘A wonderful book and a gripping history of the Sudan which doesn’t shrink the complexities.’ Observer
‘Scroggins is to be congratulated for making the story of McCune’s ill-fated foray into Africa such a good read.’ Sunday Telegraph
‘Deborah Scroggins’ analysis provides sharp relevance. It is the story both of a woman and a strange and sorrowful world.’ Sunday Independent
‘Remarkable…it has the feel of an epic tale, taking in the tragedy of Sudan…Scroggins steers a tight path between writing this book as an account of her own fascination with Sudan and as the story of McCune’s life.’ New Statesman
‘Her biography is a painstaking and loving portrait of this remarkable woman.’ Evening Standard
‘Deborah Scroggins has a sharp eye. “Emma’s War” is about the politics of the belly, and what happens when the fat white paunch meets the swollen stomachs of the hungry in Africa. It is a sorry story, but Ms Scroggins tells it awfully well.’ Economist
‘Part history, part biography and part Scroggins’ own memoir, “Emma’s War” offers an enthralling, accessible account of Sudan’s most recent history.’ Sunday Business Post
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The unexamined motivations of young people to do aid work as a way of escaping an emotionally and physically 'boring' developed world (Scroggins makes mention on several occasions the incomprehension of the African towards the kawahaja (white person) - "we'd far rather be in London")
The limited vocabulary the western media has for describing white women in Africa - dispensers of aid or venerated queens.
The impossibility of delivering aid to refugees without compromising your moral stand - the armed men control access to the refugee camps, eat first (and best) and see getting aid as a zero-sum game played against their military opponents.
The most compelling part of the book is Emma's change from aid worker to lover/wife of a charismatic military commander, and the subsequent betrayal of the ostensible motives that led her out of Europe in the first place.
Scroggins writes the book from three angles, of her own investigation in the civil wars and conflicts in the country, her meetings and subsequent documenting of Emma's life, and as necessary, a history of Sudan and the Upper Nile region. Her own love for this part of the world comes through, as does a quite clear-eyed recognition of the limitations of any options for outside parties in trying to 'aid' a country in the grip of conflict.
A reviewer elsewhere thought that Emma was closer to a Greene character in her naivete and good intentions, though I think that I would stay with the Conradian interpretation that it was the situation of the war and the cheapness of life that create a re-orientation from Western to African values. Which to our eyes is the horror.
It is not the most enthralling book I have read (I didn't sit and read it in one sitting as I have with other tomes) but it was entertaining enough. What I enjoyed was the mixture of Emma's life history and that of the region, including its political and military groups.
I felt at times that there was a speculative element about Emma's motivations which was probably unavoidable. It is a pity that there were some gaps in her story about which her own experiences will forever remain unknown. I am thinking in particular about her marriage to the Sudanese warlord.
A strength of the writing was that I was able to gain a vivid picture of the region, helped greatly by the fact that the author had been there herself. In addition, the author had mixed in some of the same social circles as Emma; I felt this added legitimacy to her writing.
I would recommend this to a friend if they were someone with an interest in history, biographies or unusual life-stories.
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