Blåögd i Luhya-land

En dag när vi var ute på en "walking safari" i Maasai Mara hittade jag en bit kvarts med guld i. Som gamla guldgrävare blev vi givetvis intresserade. Lägerkocken berättade då att han kom från västra Kenya, ett riktigt Eldorado för guldgrävare...

• Eskilstuna-Kuriren

Eftersom den svenska e-boken är en direkt översättning av den engelska boken har jag nedan också tagit med ett par recensioner av min engelska bok. De recensionerna bör alltså också kunna gälla för den svenska boken.

Ur www.bokrecensioner.se

(www.bokrecension.se/918619318X)

Erik: Korruption i Paradiset   (Betyg 5 av 5) 

Jag älskar den här boken - Blåögd i Luhya-land. Ett modigt, medelålders par gör just det jag länge drömt att få göra. De spränger sina bojor och flyttar utan några kompromisser rakt in i en annan värld, som visar sig fungera helt annorlunda än vad de är vana vid. Där korruption anses normalt, där döden gömmer sig runt knuten, där dina bästa vänner stjäl dina tillhörigheter men fortfarande anser sig som dina vänner. Ett grönskande paradis nära djungeln, där det är omöjligt att kommunicera, eftersom samma ord har olika betydelse för dig och dina grannar, och där inte ens tidsbegreppet är gemensamt. Blåögd i Luhyaland påminner i vissa avseenden om en annan bok, som jag tyckte om som barn - Alice i Underlandet.  

http://www.bokrecension.se/918619318X

: En fängslande bok   (Betyg 5 av 5)

En fängslande bok! Den beskriver ett fantastiskt äventyr ur verkligheten. Blåögd i Luhya-land förtjänar att bli läst av många, speciellt av alla de som vill läsa om ett äventyr som med råge överträffar dikten. Detta är en intressant och ingående skildring om och av ett medelålders svenskt par som vågade ta ett stort steg långt ut i världen! Skriven på ett bra språk. Det är en riktigt bra bok, helt enkelt. Jag har rekommenderat den till alla mina vänner och de som läst den har beskrivit den på samma sätt "en underbar bok". Ett kort råd: köp den o läs den, nu! (Blåögd i Luhya-land)

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P. Eng, USA:
Blue-eyed in Luhya-land - a review

 

"Blue-eyed" is a charming book. It is the account of a Swedish couple,

weary of the back-home greyness, that decides to move to Kenya to start a new life in a simpler setting, away from the Nordic cold and the modern treadmill.

 

So, meet Gunilla, the author, and her husband Bertil, the driving motor

behind the Kenya project.

 

The plan: To establish a hotel/resort in the Kenyan highlands.

 

All doesn't go well. Almost from start there is a clash of cultures

between the Scandinavian couple and the local population. Gunilla and

Bertil refuse to adjust to the more-than-a-little corruption that

permeates the life in their new home. Firstly, there is an almost complete lack of infrastructure, from water to telecommunications to electricity to - worse! - the social and legal network that Europeans are accustomed to and depend on. Which means that if you encounter people and situations that don't treat you fairly, you are pretty much on your own.

 

Most striking is the utter lack of forward thinking on the part of local

dignitaries and the local population. You would think that the influx of

foreigners and especially foreign currency to an area that depends on

subsistence farming would be a good thing, and that the people and their

leaders would see this and support the venture. Not so. An immediate

handout (as a bribe is politely called) is chosen every time over the

establishment of a job-creating enterprise, just as the trinkets that can

be pilfered are chosen every time over job retention. This, unfortunately,

is very common and very international, I have seen charity hospital

projects in Asia go belly-up because local politicians asked for

"handouts" to grant the necessary permits that the donors simply couldn't afford.

 

The end of Gunilla's and Bertil's venture, not unpredictably, is defeat,

with their resources severely depleted and in disgust over the way things

are.

 

I recommend reading "Blue-eyed" in part for its entertainment value, in

part because there is actually quite a lot to learn from it: Build a local

alliance with a local strongman, even if you have smoothe the way.

Understand the local culture for what it is, rather than for what you are

used to or would like it to be, and sit on top of employee production from

day one.

 

Sadly, the only perfect vision is hindsight. I am sure that the Riverdale

Gardens venture would have ended differently if Gunilla and Bertil had the

insight then that they have now. It's too late to change that now, but any

reader with similar plans can profit from these experiences.

 

Happy reading!

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An Authentic View of Africa, June 2, 2010 This is that rare thing an original, authentic and unvarnished view of Africa as told by an unbiased, idealistic yet pragmatic witness. This is a highly individual and admittedly European perspective but it may be more useful to establish here what it is not. It is not a travelogue, a sentimental sightseeing safari; it is not sensationalist journalism; nor is it a political manifesto with the familiar pre-packed conclusions; not an 'I was there' self-congratulatory and self-important tale of heroism, not another empty instalment of the New Age agenda. Rather, it is a factual, human (originally diarised) account of a remarkable and ultimately tragic adventure which took place in the unfamiliar, remote region of Western Kenya, deep in the emerald green forest on the slopes of Mount Elgon and close to Lake Victoria. Here, in the most densely populated yet least known, least 'developed' part of Kenya, there existed (still exists) a world remarkably untouched by western influence. This provides the backdrop to the couple's valiant efforts to establish a livelihood - through farming, then building and running a hotel (with a bit of gold-panning thrown in for fun) and finally pioneering a new form of enterprise in the form of mushroom cultivation. The scenes towards the end of the book (glimpsed in the opening chapter), of the couple literally fleeing the threat of mob violence, is as gripping as any fiction, with all the vividness and stark brutality we associate with the worst side of Africa, all the more powerful for its gradual build up through the story and, of course, its utter veracity.

This is a good antidote for the all too numerous superficial, lightweight and stereotypical pot-boilers coming off the press and jumping into airport terminal bookstalls (where they belong). Beautifully written, keenly observed and with a true sense of narrative, I found it hard to put down once caught up in the unerringly convincing and intensely human story.

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A Swedish couple in Kenya,

I'm in the safari business, so I have been to Kenya many times and made many friends in Kenya. I love that country very much. The people are so genuinely friendly and accommodating. However, I've never lived in Kenya, I always wanted to, but .... Anyway, it was with great anticipation that I embarked on reading this book, in my native Swedish. What an eye-opener! Wow! This very brave couple gave up all their comforts, everything they were accustomed to in their Swedish socialistic society and moved to Kenya where you are on your own to fend for yourself as they quickly found out. The laws of Kenya are not there to protect you, as they so naively thought, but to be used by those in power. I give this book three thumbs up for suspense and adventure with some very powerful witchcraft thrown in. A very different book from your regular safari journal.

Kristina Trowbridge "WinWin Vacations" (Seattle, WA USA)   


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Nedan recensioner har gjorts på Elib

Ulla-Britt Frandén (2011-02-28)  
Boken beskriver på ett mjukt sätt de kulturskillnader som uppstår när man flyttar in i andra kulturer. Den är lätt att ta till sig. Jag vill rekkommendera denna bok till personer som på olika sätt arbetar med intgrationsfrågor både svenskar och från andra länder inflyttade personer. Det kan skapa förståelse för hur lätt det kan vara att missförstå varandra och förhoppningsvis ta hänsyn till vid planering av mottagande och integrering med olika kulturer.

Margreth Brodd (2011-03-09)
Ofattbart att detta har hänt så nyss. Mycket intressant. Jag kunde nästan inte sluta lyssna. Det kändes väldigt bra att författaren själv läste.

E (2011-02-25)
en väldigt trevlig beskrivning av Kenya och den vites varadagsliv där.

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