Secrets of the Moon: A Novel by Tema Encarnacion (Dominican Republic 2000–01) Reviewed by Mark D. Walker (Guatemala 1971–73) Author Tema Encarnacion couldn’t have chosen a timelier theme for her debut novel, than the circumstances that force families to flee violence from Central America and embark on a perilous journey across the border into the U.S., as the immigration crisis continues unresolved. Alternating narratives from the daughter, Luz, and her mother, Esperanza, help the reader appreciate how the experience will traumatize everyone in the family from Luz’s grandmother, who has been bringing Luz up in El Salvador alone for six years, […]

Mister Johnson By Joyce Cary Reviewed By Mark D. Walker Having worked in West Africa (Sierra Leone) for several years, I looked forward to reading this book, which took place in Nigeria. I also wanted to see how the relationship between an African clerk and his British bosses developed. And I wanted to read what some say is the best novel to be written about Africa, despite its author’s inconspicuous formative years when he barely earned his degree from Oxford in 1912. Mister Johnson is a warm-hearted, enthusiastic, but incompetent, government clerk on probation at the outpost of Fada, Nigeria […]

Miguel Street, by V. S. Naipaul Reviewed by Mark D. Walker As is the case with Graham Greene, I occasionally pick up one of their many novels, as they’re two of the great global storytellers. The stories in Miguel Street are a collection of linked short stories based on childhood memories in the Port of Spain. The street appears to be based on Luis Street where the author lived with his family in the 1940s. When I was in the Port of Spain five years ago doing some consulting work, I saw some of the slums, which seemed similar to […]

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris Reviewed by Mark D. Walker I’d heard enough about the author’s wit and humor to finally purchase one of his books. I didn’t realize it was a compilation of his short stories which was initially confusing but I found a number of them hilarious. Although he’s no Mark Twain, I found his insights and cultural euphemisms and political correctness helped lighten up my day. I can’t imagine him trying to convince family members to share some of the more outrageous stories about them. He’s teamed up with his sister Amy on several […]

House Made of Dawn By N. Scott Momaday Reviewed by Mark D. Walker I learned about the author on an “American Masters” documentary, “Words from a Bear” that portrayed him as a voice of Native American Renaissance in art and literature, which led to a breakthrough of Native American literature into the mainstream. Like many Americans, my awareness of the Native American was raised by historian Dee Brown’s 1970 best-selling book, “Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee,” which told about the massacre of several hundred Lakota Indians (mostly women and children) by soldiers of the U.S. Army. The author was […]