Revolution Baby: Motherhood and Anarchy in Kyrgyzstan
by Saffia Farr
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List Price: ££8.99
Our Price: ££7.03
Your Save: £ 0.00 ( % )
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
Manufacturer: Adlibbed Ltd
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Average Customer Rating: 
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Binding: Paperback
EAN: 9781897312506
ISBN: 1897312504
Label: Adlibbed Ltd
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 300
Publication Date: 2007-09-21
Publisher: Adlibbed Ltd
Studio: Adlibbed Ltd
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Really enjoyable, thought provoking and amusing book
Comment: My husband gave me this book as a present and I am very pleased he did. Having never visited any of the countries which previously formed the Soviet Union and not being a mother, trailing spouse or an expat I was a little apprehensive before I started the book as to how I'd relate to the story - I really needn't have worried. Saffia writes in a very engaging way and she succesfully paints a picture of a beautiful rural country without glossing over or romantising the difficulties and tensions faced by the Kyrgyz. She adopts the same style when discussing her first pregnancy and looking after Tom in Bishkek - her narrative is lighthearted and witty without either trivialising the difficulties or sinking into self pity.
For me what sets this book apart from being simply a travel memoir is the character portraits which Saffia paints of the main protagonists of the "trailing wives' club". Gina, for example, is brilliantly described and I am sure that everyone who reads this book will have come across someone like her!
All in all, I really enjoyed this book. It is one of the best books I have read so far this year, much better than some of the bestsellers and highly acclaimed books other people have recommended to me. I, for one, hope that Saffia doesn't hang up her travelling boots and writes another novel soon.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Top of my list of great reads
Comment: A friend of the author recommended this book and I could just kiss her for doing so! I adored this book from start to finish and I'm astonished that the author had to self-publish. I hope she's laughing her way to the bank. I want to recommend it to armchair travellers who want to be taken away by a book as well as to serious adventurers who might dream of travelling to this fantastic place. This tale takes a top spot on my list of favorite books.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Singular Perspective
Comment: A singularly textured first novel full of pathos and sharp observation. Ex-pat or not this is an exceedingly good read contrasting both endurance and acceptance of soviet life by both native and visitor alike.
Customer Rating:
Summary: an enjoyable and easy-to-read, yet thought-provoking book.
Comment: Ever wondered what life would be like as an ex-pat living in a small but feisty corner of the former Soviet Union? Well, this would be an excellent primer to help you figure that out. Saffia's husband is a water engineer, so his work for an international aid organisation tends to lead the family to the most out-of-the way places; of course, all the "soft" postings (like my current location, the Netherlands) already have universal clean drinking water for their citizens.
The book itself is an engaging, well-written and essentially sympathetic account of Saffia's time in Kyrgyzstan, a tiny, mountainous, central Asian province squeezed in between Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan & China, a stone's-throw away from Afghanistan.
From my point of view as a fellow "trailing spouse", I found myself struck by the parallels of the expatriate lifestyle, despite the vast differences in our circumstances.
About the only similarity I can draw between Amsterdam and Bishkek is that they are both capital cities, yet the essential alien-ness of life away from "home" (don't even get me started on where "home" precisely is!) is an experience that will be familiar to anyone who has ever lived abroad. Homesickness, hopelessness, culture-shock (and don't forget the "reverse culture-shock" which is somehow much worse than any other kind) jostle with the sense of accomplishment that comes from starting to master the language, finding your way around, meeting new people and even just managing to carry out the most basic of daily tasks.
Whilst the main focus of the story is Saffia's experience of pregnancy and raising a small child in a country with no reliable healthcare and limited resources, it also has much of interest to say about the politics of international aid, Kyrgyzstan's struggles to come to terms with the legacy of soviet rule, international ulterior motives and western foreign policy.
I would highly recommend this book to anybody who is remotely curious about the recent history or politics of the former soviet central Asian republics, I would also recommend it to anyone who has lived or is contemplating living abroad.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Revolution Baby
Comment: Very funny. I am an ex-pat an can relate to so many situations described in the book. I read out passages of it to my husband.
Whoever wants to life abroad or wants to join the circle of international Aid should read the book to be prepared for the job!
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