Too Late to Turn Back

This is the doppelganger to Graham Greene's Journey Without Maps, written a few years later by the female cousin who had accompanied him but who was scarcely mentioned in his book. They, along with up to dozens of native porters, had travelled for some weeks from village to village through Liberia.
I didn't care for this book any more than her cousin's. The author seems privileged, uncurious and very much of the colonial mindset. Her weeks of West African travails were certainly unpleasant - beset by dangerous bugs, rats and impoverished and often diseased indigenous people - but her journey included being carried on a hammock for at least a few minutes every hour. of their walk along the trails.
Who benefited from this 'exploration'? show more Graham advanced his writing career, but the journey doesn't seem to have materially helped their struggling, underfed carriers, the poor villagers they importuned along the way, or even geographers or the Foreign Office back home. What a lark. show less

An account of the author (mid 20's non authorial lady), traveling with her cousin Graham Greene to Liberia, so he can make a buck writing about it. Love her matter of fact, no nonsense reporting on the trials and joys of this trip. While one is envying her bold spirit and cathartic adventures, one is also a bit relieved not to be there at times too (the rats, the bugs, the food - at times). Great reporting on what walking that distance is like - and their encounters with the locals and their negotiations with their own carriers / helpers (how many- maybe .... 8?). What a fun book!