Swahili for the Broken-hearted

Swahili for the Broken-Hearted by Peter Moore was born out of his break-up with his girl friend and traveling companion. After spending months with friends in South Africa, basically living on his friends' couch, watching soap operas, he decides it's time to head home. Rather than head home by hopping on a plane bound for Australia, he decides to travel overland along the eastern coast of Africa for Cairo.

Although Moore's book is about traveling through Africa, don't confuse it for a travel guide. It's not; it's a memoir about a white Australian bloke traveling through areas of Africa that tourists wouldn't normally go to — while en route to the very places that tourists do flock to: Victoria Falls, the monastery in Ethiopia, the show more pyramids of Giza.

Since it's not a travel guide, Moore relates his adventures as they happen, for better and worse. He tells about the bribes he paid, the bribes he refused to pay, getting into fights over bus windows, numerous beers drunk, and visas approved and visas denied. It's not a complete lark, though. Moore describes hiding in a coffin shop (and inside a coffin) to escape a riot and gunfire.

With all the ups and downs, though, Moore manages to paint a picture of life in eastern Africa taken one individual at a time. He does it with self deprecation and humor. show less

This book suffers from many of the faults of travel books about Africa. It says more about the author (escaping from a broken relationship) than it does about Africa. Although I know many of the places he visits, I don't recognise them from his description. He spends too much time with expatriates and fellow travellers, in the places they frequent, and far too little with Africans. Some of the most authentic parts of the book are the rare occasions when he does relate to local people.

Again like many similar authors, Moore has a very patronising and condescending attitude towards Africa and Africans. He is cynical, reinforces stereotypes, makes fun of Africans, and, on the rare occasions when he finds something positive, he seems show more surprised.

Nevertheless I always find it interesting to read about places I know well and other nearby places that I haven't yet visited. It's worth reading, but I'd advise the reader to take the opinions of yet another arrogant young white traveller with a very large pinch of salt. show less

I had high hopes for this one. I travelled through West Africa and as far as Cape Town back in 2010, with the original plan being to continue up the other side until I reached Cairo. But when we hit the bottom of the continent I realised I had hit bottom too, and I gave up. I regret it to this day, but, sadly, I also regret the time I spent reading this travelogue of Moore's journey from Cape Town to Cairo. The humour missed the mark every single time, and the descriptions of the places he visited were so fleeting that I hardly had a sense of where he was for the majority of his trip.

Although a "sequel" to THE FULL MONTEZUMA, this one can be read before that one; the "broken hearted" aspect doesn't overshadow the story as much as the title would suggest. Solid writing, but not much especially humorous or clever. Moore seemed to lose some momentum by the time he reached Ethiopia, and frankly so did I.

Good read, well written. Having visited Africa many times was nice to be able to associate with some of the places mentioned

My first Peter Moore - clearly liked him enough to continue reading his stuff.