Cruelest Journey: Six Hundred Miles To Timbuktu
Salak's second travel memoir--her first,Four Corners(2001), chronicled her trip deep into Papua New Guinea--takes her down the Niger River to Timbuktu, following the trail of Scottish explorer Mungo Park, who more than 200 years before attempted the same journey. Salak decides to take the journey alone on a kayak, hoping to recapture Park's sense of wonder and determination. Her journey gets off to an inauspicious start when she injures her arm on the very first day of her journey. But Salak preseveres, and spends day in and day out paddling down the river. Along the way, she encounters various tribes, some friendlier than others, and grapples with her own reactions to some of their traditions, such as female genital mutilation. She also muses on Park's two difficult journeys down the river, seeking the elusive golden city of Timbuktu. Salak's trip is deeply personal, and she shares her fears, her triumphs, and her thoughts along the way with the reader, making it an accessible, involving journey for her audience.Kristine HuntleyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved