First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria by Eve Brown Waite
SUBWAY READER: Me!
Subway Line: Any, All and Every
Title: First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria
Author: Eve Brown-Waite
Why this book, Meaghan?
Ok, ok, I know that memoir is supposed to be a bit passé, and trust me, I don’t typically think of myself as much of a memoir reader but my newest subway read is really different.
For one thing, it’s one of the first titles I ever worked with in publishing. And for another, I liked it.
Well, I guess it’s not that different in that it is still, in fact, a memoir. But what typically turns me off about this genre is that its just people sharing their memories, thoughts and impressions. This is ok for some people but as for me, I am addicted to story telling; arcs, plot lines, beginnings, middles, and endings. I need them, I crave them and for better or worse, memoir just has never delivered for me. About ½ way through any given memoir I think “Who cares if it’s true? It’s not a story!”
First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria by Eve Brown-Waite is kind of like chick-lit meets literary memoir. The fun voice and narrative style carries you through Eve’s rather weighty and even intense experience in the Peace Corps in Ecuador and then having and raising a family in Uganda.
Here’s the book description (available via the author’s website)
Eve Brown always thought she would join the Peace Corps someday, although she secretly worried about life without sushi, frothy coffee drinks and air conditioning. But with college diploma in hand, it was time to put up or shut up. So with some ambivalence she arrives at the Peace Corps office–sporting her best safari chic attire –to casually look into the steps one might take if one were to become a global humanitarian, a la Angelina Jolie. But when Eve meets John, her dashing young Peace Corps recruiter, all her ambivalence flies out the window. She absolutely must join the Peace Corps – and win John’s heart in the process. Off to Ecuador she goes and – after a year in the jungle – back to the States she runs, vowing to stay within easy reach of a decaf cappuccino for the rest of her days.
But life had other plans. Just as she’s getting reacquainted with the joys of toilet paper, John gets a job with CARE and Eve must decide if she’s up for life in another third world outpost. Before you can say, “pass the malaria prophylaxis,” the couple heads off to Uganda, and the fun really begins–if one can call having rats in your toilet fun. Fortunately, in Eve’s case one certainly can, because to her, every experience is an adventure to be embraced and these pages come alive with all of the alternatively poignant and uproarious details.
With wit and candor, First Comes Love, then Comes Malaria chronicles Eve’s misadventures as an aspiring do-gooder. From intestinal parasites to getting caught in a civil war, culture clashes to unexpected friendships, here is an honest and laugh-out-loud funny look at the search for love and purpose—from a woman who finds both in the last place she expected.
So check it out and let me know what you think!
And don’t forget, tell us: What’s Your Subway Book?
