Four Corners: A Journey into the Heart of Papua New Guinea

There is no doubt Kira Salak is a strong woman. As an eleven year old kid her father taught her how to handle a gun. She remembers her father encouraging his young daughter to aim between the eyes. All her life Kira considered herself tough, wanting to be a soldier, a warrior of Green Beret quality. For all of her courage, time and time again while reading Four Corners I was struck dumb by her seat-of-her-pants travel style in Papua New Guinea. Salak travels beyond the outer reaches of civilization because she has an inexplicable calling to do so. It seems incredulous one could be so naive about everything, including basic survival skills for the jungles of Papua New Guinea. Salak goes into the region without a clear plan or even a way show more to support herself should the missionaries and locals refuse to ensure her safe passage regardless of the money and/or gifts she has to offer. She's a creative writing student with no concrete connection to why she is there. Other reviewers of Four Corners called Salak "lucky." She is that and then some! show less

A young American woman not really sure about what she is travelling for, only that she needs to do it. There are things she has left behind: her course, her boyfriend, and things she hasn't or can't: her experiences in Mozambique and her past. Travelling through an island that was split in two when the Indonesian's invaded, Kira visits a refugee camp which opens her eyes to what the rest of the world seems not to have noticed. Her foreign points of contact are the various missionaries, people working for companies and a few tourists. She travels around, by canoe, on foot and in minibuses, always the outsider, the Wait Meri. It is sad to see how the New Guineans are being "modernised" with no regard to their past or whether they even show more want to be. The missionary collecting up the traditional tools so he can replace them with metal ones just horrified me. show less

I was not able to identify well with the main character, but the writing was very good. It was an entertaining travel story and made me think even if I was vaguely annoyed with her the whole time.

1971-,/Biography & Autobiography/Biography/Autobiography/Description and travel/General/Papua New Guinea/Salak, Kira,/Travel/Travel - General/Travelers' writings/Women/Journeys/Salak, Kira/Memoir