Julie chose our next country & it’s a unique one. Can you guess which land from this list of facts by Nation Facts?
It’s the least visited country on its continent with airport arrivals from tourists only amounting to ~85,000/year.
However, ecotourism & sustainability are very important here with >80% of the country still covered by forests & 8,000 species of plants, some of which cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
Some good news though—there is a low rate of deforestation & the government is so focused on protection efforts that the country received a $45 million reward.
The country contains 1 of the tallest wooden structures in the world—a cathedral rising up to 143ft (43.5m) built in 1892.
It contains the world's tallest single-drop waterfall (meaning one level at the top & bottom). It’s five times the height of Niagara Falls!
Due to the high cost of living there, it has 1 of the highest emigration rates in the world with ~55% of citizens choosing to reside abroad.
Mauby is the famous drink there & it’s made from tree bark. Traditionally, it was fermented in small batches, but is now mainly a commercial soft drink.
Any ideas what land we’re referring to? If not, what if we added that it’s national bird:
Looks like a mish-mash of half a dozen other birds (e.g., scruffy crest of a cuckoo, a Cassowary’s blue face, body of a chicken, long/stiff hawk’s tail, etc.).
Has babies with temporary claws sprouting from their stumpy little wings.
Uses bacterial fermentation in the gut to break down the vegetable material it eats, much as cattle do. This causes the bird to have a foul odor so while its official name is hoatzin, it’s often referred to as “stinkbird.”
Is the last surviving member of a bird line that branched off in its own direction 64 million years ago.
The country is also incredibly diverse. The majority of the inhabits come from a mixed heritage which encompasses primarily East Indian, Chinese, W. African, Portuguese, British, & 9 indigenous tribes. The primary religions include Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, a form of an Afro syncretic religion, & Rastafarianism.
It’s believed to be home to El Dorado, a mythical city with a king covered in gold on the shores of a lake which is one of the main reasons Britain was interested in it. Plus, it’s the only country in South America to be predominantly English-speaking (although most people speak a form of an English-based creole language).
So what country are we reading?
It’s the Co-operative Republic of Guyana (aka Guyana or “land of many waters”).
But before we get to your Guyanese book suggestions, I have to share an incredible book related to Guyana I just found called Coolie Woman.
In 1903, a young woman sailed from India to Guyana as a “coolie”―the British name for indentured laborers who replaced the newly emancipated slaves on sugar plantations all around the world. Pregnant and traveling alone, this woman, like so many coolies, disappeared into history. In Coolie Woman, her great-granddaughter Gaiutra Bahadur embarks on a journey into the past to find her. Traversing three continents and trawling through countless colonial archives, Bahadur excavates not only her great-grandmother's story but also the repressed history of some quarter of a million other coolie women, shining a light on their complex lives.
Shunned by society, and sometimes in mortal danger, many coolie women were either runaways, widows, or outcasts. Many of them left husbands and families behind to migrate alone in traumatic sea voyages only to face a life of hard labor, dismal living conditions and sexual exploitation. Coolie Woman is a meditation on survival, a gripping story of a double diaspora―from India to the West Indies in one century, Guyana to the United States in the next―that is at once a search for one's roots and an exploration of gender and power, peril and opportunity.
Now onto the books for the club.
HAVE ANY BOOK SUGGESTIONS?
Just let us know your Guyanese suggestions by Fri., Aug. 20 11PM ET. (That’s NYC time. See it converted to your time below.)
You can comment with your suggestion below or in our online book club in Facebook.
We'll use 2 suggestions from book club members, 2 of my suggestions, & 2 suggestions from Julie (the book club moderator) to compile a list of 6 books on which book club members will provide their thoughts. The book judged as best will then be read.
Please note - We're specific in our books, they must:
Largely occur in the location specified unless the world/situation described is not specific to a country (e.g., sci fi, fantasy, some poetry, philosophical books, etc.)
Be written by an author born there who has spent a good portion of their life there
Exist in paperback & ebook available on both Amazon & Kindle at least in the US & hopefully elsewhere
Also, we love it when folks suggest books which are also available in audio format. While we know this isn’t always possible so it is not a requirement, it is more inclusive & something for which all of us should strive.