Somebody's Heart is Burning: A Woman Wanderer in Africa

#481
Title: Somebody's Heart is Burning: A Woman Wanderer in Africa
Author: Tanya Shaffer
Publisher: Vintage
Year: 2003
332 pages
I enjoyed this memoir of travel in Africa much more than I initially thought I would. I was worried that Shaffer was going to complain about her emotional conflicts about her boyfriend the whole time. While this is as noble a topic as any, it wasn't what I hope for in a travelogue. Though the boyfriend is a recurring theme, he serves less as an object of rumination (though I'm sure she ruminated) and more as a vehicle for the people Shaffer encounters to express their opinions about her decision making and values. The book is a series of vignette-like chapters, many of which hold together quite well and are both interesting and poignant. While some of Shaffer's choices could serve as cautionary tales for travelers, most of the outcomes are at worst benign. This could be paired with Gilman's Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven for an interesting class or book club discussion.