Monique And The Mango Rains Book Review

The focus of the engaging narrative by Kris Holloway is a young African midwife named Monique Dembele. She worked in a Nampossela, a village located at the east of Bamalko. The author served in Mali as a part of Peace Corps from 1989 to 1991. The focus of the story is the unique friendship of Dembele and Holloway which grew so intense that It almost started to resemble kinship. The post script consists of the details by the author from her first day in the Mali till the departure. Monique’s work as midwife and a victim of cultural discrepancies helps her in understanding Mali’s cultural dynamics relating to sexuality, child birth, maternity and women’s reproductive health.
Monique serves as a guide and assists the author in her study in the small decrepit birthing house in the village. The reader can easily get an insight to the simple techniques used by African midwives for assisting the mothers during childbirth and health of infants. It also gives a detailed perspective of a women’s life as represented by Monique. They have to obey their husbands no matter what. She had the baby tied at her back, performed prenatal consultations, helped other women in baby births, gave demonstrations and administrated vaccinations. Holloway has also written in detail about the gender relations in patrilineal societies, birth control, female circumcision, and certain other important aspects of women life.
“Mango Rains” depict the desperation for water which is too precious to Malians. Holloway dramatically documents it as “water, precious water” (p. 59) and people”. The title has an association with the main character hence it is referred to Monique’s statement “the small rains that come in February and March to make the mangoes sweet” (p. 78). In the marooned village, the author tries to “give health demonstrations, repair wells, build fuel-conserving stoves, plant trees, and protect the shoots” (p. 11), helps Monique in improving the women’s health care and childbirth practices. The author has contextualized the experiences for the readers and focused on the emotional moments in the way that they can relate to a number of events personally. She has used some facts to compare the practices and trends in USA and Africa. In the first chapter she mentions “sobering statistic that placed a Malian woman’s lifetime risk of dying in pregnancy and childbirth at one in twelve, compared to a U.S. woman’s risk of over one in three thousand” (p. 8). The readers can also discover the ways through which the village people farm, eat, socialize and celebrate. It also explains a number of cultural rituals and rites which are performed based on a belief but her focus still remains women health. She has taken two principle issues as the defining topics. They are reproductive rights and genital cutting. A part from the apparent differences, both women worked together and assisted Malian women in their struggles and better future. They came closer and showed that friendship is a relationship which is beyond all differences. It also shows the beauty and sprit of impoverished African women .
The book is rewarding for anyone who is interested in the women’s healthcare in Africa, cross linguistic friendships and cultural boarders’ relations. It is a beautiful tale of joys, frustrations, pains and learning.The historical and ethnographical narrative assisted by scientific research makes it a compelling and informative read. It is a fitting tribute to all those young women in Africa who work so hard and dedicate their lives for the care of fellow women. The book with the heart touching photo of Monique on the cover is an excellent contribution to African women healthcare literature.

Works Cited

Diarra, Soumaila T. "The Guardian ." 1 May 2012. Women's rights in Mali 'set back 50 years' by new 'Family Code' law . 8 March 2015 <http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2012/may/01/womens-rights-mali-50-years>.
Dirlam, Sharon. "Monique and the Mango Rains REview ." 2008. Peace Corps Writers. 8 March 2015 <http://www.peacecorpswriters.org/pages/2006/0609/609rv-monique.html>.
Hartwig, Kari A. "Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Midwife in Mali ." African Studies Review (2007): 273-275.
Holloway, Kris. Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Midwife in Mali. Illinois: Waveland Press, 2007.