Padre!: A Place Whose Rules Rearrange Your Own

by Raven Moore

Described as 'that missing voice from Generation X' by Roger Muntu from Voice of America, Raven fashions you front row seats to the ride of a lifetime. She is a cultural, nonfictionist tyrannosaurus rex and her narration of the lives of Ivoiriens during her 2 years living in Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer makes you fall in love with this story and laugh out loud when you least expect it. How do Ivoiriens define color, class, gender, sexuality, religion, and more, differently than you or I do? "Padre!" will enthrall you, surprise you, entertain you, and give you a profound, new view of the world that will help you to navigate it better at any level.

Genres: Africa, Memoir, Travel

322 pages, Paperback

First published October 8, 2013

About the author

On paper, Raven Moore is a graduate of Georgetown University, a cultural nonfiction writer, a Japanese translator, a public speaker, a poet, and the author of “Padre!: A place whose rules rearrange your own.”
But, essentially, Raven is a citizen of the world. She breathes air. She loves dancing in her living room. She doesn’t eat cow. She loves unsweetened soy milk. She runs ten miles on a dare. She picks up languages very easily. And, she is guaranteed to make you laugh hard at least once in every story – a cultural nonfiction-writing, narrative tyrannosaurus rex. Roar!

Reviews

[Cristina]

A keeper! Raven captures the essentials of human nature and channels them through humor, the voice that lives in each persons head and life's irreplaceable heartfelt moments! A journey that is sure to trigger an unforgettable life experience from your past that you have placed in the background, is now beautifully brought to the foreground!

[Will Jonson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book and deserves to find a much wider audience. We probably all have stereotypes of what Africa is like – this book explodes them with the truth. Raven Moore was a Peace Corps volunteer and this is her memoir of her time there. What made it so engaging to read for me was the excellent written style – places and people are brought alive through Moore’s descriptions, and her use of dialogue is superb. There are sad, heart-wrenching moments, but the whole book is also full of a life-enhancing sense of humour and warmth and compassion, because the author’s own voice is clear and string, although never obtrusive. There were many moments when the writing made me laugh out loud. I set aside a day to read it and I quite literally could not put it down. Recommended without reservation.

[Ken French · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really well-written memoir of the author's days as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cote d'Ivoire. Sometimes funny, sometimes incredibly sad, but a unique look at one woman finding her place in the world. Highly recommended.

[Techno Spunky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a journey that albeit was bumpy at first, evened out and the scenery was worth seeing.

[Joel Savage · Rating 5 out of 5]

Africa has been a continent of unrest, ethnic violence, war and political turmoil. The results of many of those political upheavals have claimed lives and mass destruction of properties. After election in Ivory Coast, defeated president Gbagbo refused to leave office, leading to a political violence which claimed many lives including children in Ivory Coast.

World leaders try their best to negotiate for peace for Gbagbo to leave office, for the new president but all efforts fell on deaf ears. The failure to cooperate ignited violence in Ivory Coast. Among other Peace Corps health volunteers, Raven Moore writes her experience as she takes care of children in the political conflict country in West Africa, in her book Padre!

The only way to see and understand the suffering of children is to be in their mist. That is exactly what Raven did. "The experience was so rich that I told myself if I didn't write down the things I saw, it would be a huge waste," said Moore, a former Montclair resident and Montclair High School alumna. I highly recommend ‘Padre’ to readers and those hungry for diversity of culture to read this remarkable book.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

"PADRE! A Place Whose Rules Rearrange Your Own", by Raven Moore, is a true two year journal-like snap-shot of her time in Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa, as a Peace Corp Volunteer. Raven is a black American woman, who was called "Pahdre" (thus the title)and referred as "La Blanche" due to her light complexion.

An insightful look into the lifestyle of African women, their languages, the children, the health issues, their morality, hope and love for each other. A complex story told in a unique way.

I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

[Sifa Gowon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read only an excerpt of this book and found myself drawn in. The narrative was smooth and fluid; the author's voice strong but not overpowering and in those few pages she let her characters and situation come alive with well chosen words.

As an African I could identify some of those situations and even the weather! :-)

I look forward to reading the complete book and I think I can safely say that it will be worth my while.

Good one, Raven.

[Diane Brown]

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