Facing the Congo

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Jeffrey Tayler

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Pages: 341 (Paperback)

ISBN: 0349114501

Pub: Abacus

Pub date: 2002-05-02

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 53862

Editorial Review:

Recent years have seen a spate of "Congo books". Ronan Bennett, Barbara Kingsolver and John Edric have written acclaimed Congo novels, and Adam Hochschild's history, King Leopold's Ghost, documents the atrocities committed during rubber fever, when 8,000,000 died in the Belgian Congo and up to 14,000,000 died in French Equatorial Africa. In the travel genre, we have had Redmond O'Hanlon's great Congo Journey and Michaela Wrong's In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz. The combination of historical tragedy and contemporary anarchy makes this rich hunting ground for writers, but also provokes serious ethical questions about writing commercial books on a destroyed country--questions which only the nature of the books themselves can answer.
Facing the Congo is the latest such book. In it, Jeffrey Tayler recounts his attempt to canoe the navigable length of sub-Saharan Africa's most symbolic river. Equipped with help from one of Mobutu's henchmen and an ailing guide, Tayler finds things far from plain sailing. Negotiating corrupt officialdom, murderous peoples on the riverbanks, widespread suspicion and the dangers of the river itself, he ultimately finds his plans too demanding to be fully realised.

Tayler's prose is often evocative and his story is a compelling one. But he tends to load his descriptions with adjectives, which can over-dramatise situations. Of course this is a dramatic adventure, and Tayler tells it well, but at the end you can't help feeling that too little attention is paid to the root causes of both his troubles and the current situation in the Congo--rubber fever, greed and a callous European superiority complex. --Toby Green

Reader Reviews:

Wanderlust meet escapism (1/1 people found this helpful)

Plus- The journey up and down the congo river is an interesting one detailed with observation and anaedotes, it would appeal to those who like travel stories.
Minus- Lack of meaning of his travel turns into an escapism, failed to dig deep into the heart of congo people and tell us their story.

Jeffrey Tayler, an American lives in Moscow, sensing his under-achievement and loss of purpose and direction, to quote his word 'The wanderlust that had impelled me to travel happily throughout my twenties had made me a terrible misfit in my thirties' Hence laid his decision to take some action, to travel, and he come upon Congo.

Then started the narrative from preparation to embarking his journey up the Congo river, from the rather peaceful Central African Republic to the eventful and dangerous Congo, with abundant stories of corruption, cannibalism, war, killing, expat life of diamond dealing, etc.

However, the fact that it is well written only qualifies the book as a standard travel story, a good narratives without meanings, it does not demonstrate his courage (though it demonstrate his rationale on safety precaution), does not deliver new insights nor offer us a new perspective on the lives of congo river. The story are dim throughout the book, and it does not answer any of question.

Captivating (0/0 people found this helpful)

I really would recommend this book to anyone interested in adventure travel.

Jeffrey Tayler is an accomplished writer who brings alive his travels. There's a good balance between describing the place he is visiting, the people he is with and the real sense of danger that he faces.

I couldn't put it down.

Eavesdropper's bonus (0/1 people found this helpful)

Sitting in the bar of the Locarno Hotel in Rome back in Nov. 2003, taking a break from La Dolce Vita with an espresso and an guidebook, I became aware of an interesting conversation between an American and some Italian journalists(?) going on at a neighbouring table. The American told tales of Russia, Morocco and the Congo, of struggles with bureaucracy and imminent dangers. This unlikely looking traveller (think accountant, management consultant), was softly spoken and I was unable to catch his name but a few weeks later, a quick search with the details I remembered, proved the power of googling with a name returned within 0.64 seconds.
'Facing the Congo' arrived days later and was soon devoured. It is a gripping piece of travel writing, sometimes fascinating and often tragic. Mr Tayler throws himself into the Congo (splash), experiencing the struggles of the locals but making acquaintances rather than friends and realising he could never be other than an outsider. Although, ultimately an heroic failure not a Hollywood ending, this gripping journey is more comfortably taken in a reading room than in a dugout canoe.
Highly recommended.

'Facing the Congo' (2/3 people found this helpful)

This is a very well written book and Jeffrey Tayler's style is very well suited to those people who love to travel. Looking at some other reviews, they criticise the lack of description and 'travel tips' in these types of books - they are greatly missing the point. Travelling, like Jeffrey Tayler does, with little thought prior and a spirit of 'where will I end up', is the stuff great travellers are made of.
A great amount of his book is focused on people he meets and his experiences - this is very refreshing and the book reads like he is telling an old friend of his adventure. Leave the tips and descriptions for Lonley Planet, and read this book for this guy's fantastic ability to describe his rather reckless journey down a massive and dangerous jungle river!

Exciting and informative (1/2 people found this helpful)

A compelling and descriptive account of the authors attempt to navigate the mighty Congo river. The journey is undertaken amid much soul searching and is attempted without mechanical assistance. One must admire the author for the way he learns to handle the corrupt Zairean authorities, but this admiration is tempered with great sadness for the everyday struggles of the Zairean people. The writing is excellent, if a little dramatic in places. All in all, a very good effort.

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