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Literature Review: The Cruelest Journey by Kira Salak

The Cruelest Journey Kira Salak

“No place is safe. Safety, itself, is an illusion.” Kira Salak

The women’s memoirs I’ve read since repatriating to the US have repeatedly disappointed me. Rather than travelogues about other cultures and a writer’s (small) place in it, today’s publishers churn out self-obsessive memoirs aimed at women as if we were interested solely in finding boyfriends and making babies with men of foreign accents. Women writing about living in Japan, Yemen, mainland China, and Hong Kong, for instance, focus on infertility or stealing husbands, treading nowhere near anthropological observations of the other cultures. Then there’s Kira Salak. She raises travel writing to the level of explorer writing.

The Cruelest Journey Kira Salak

“Since then I’ve sought out countries that are dangerous in order to reveal situations no one else is covering, like slavery in Timbuktu and genocide in eastern Congo. These tragedies are very emotionally difficult to witness, but if by shedding light on them I can improve even one person’s life, I feel it’s worth the risk,” she wrote in National Geographic .

The Cruelest Journey tells her journey kayaking solo six hundred miles down West Africa’s Niger River in an inflatable kayak toward the Saharan city of Timbuktu.

She begins her trip with a single backpack in a torrential downpour from the Malian town of Old Ségou. She reveals how Timbuktu fell from its zenith during the Songhai Empire’s reign from 1463-1591, when its academic and artistic riches were tantamount Florence’s during Europe’s age of Enlightenment until it was sacked by the Moors in the late 16th century, and how it’s come to be the rubble heap and tourist trap it is today.

Salak equips herself for the journey with the writings of 18th-century Scottish explorer Mungo Park, who twice labored over this course but perished along the way. Determined to follow in (most of) his footsteps, she shows us a place that time has all but abandoned. She witnesses polio and leprosy, voodoo priests and shamans, and abundant slavery, despite its being outlawed there. She kayaks through a pod of hippos like tiptoeing through a field of landmines.

She learns to discern the differences between tribes such as the Tuareg, the Fulani and the Bambarra, the Bozo and Somono. Most nights she stops at villages, learning to deduce which tribe lives there by characteristics visible from the river, if she can’t already discern that by how the village inhabitants react to her from the shore. Do they wave and exchange greetings, yell and threaten her, or watch her like a zoo animal” All the while she searches for commonalities, for ways of communicating and better understanding by speaking to them in Bambarra.

Thoughts on Male Travelers

One particularly enjoyable part of Salak’s book is her ability to alternately make fun of and admire male travelers. (Though admittedly her adoration of Park sometimes reads like Oriana Fallaci’s hero worship of Alekos Panagulis in A Man .)

“He doesn’t hide his distress, and his trademark equanimity fails him, revealing glimpses of a traumatizing ordeal. Many male adventurers of his time chose to hide such candor, opting instead for bravado or tedious ethnographical digressions,” he says of Park’s narrative of his capture by Moors. When the women among his captors repeatedly inspected his physique, they became particularly hands-on to find out if circumcision also applies to Christians. Park supposedly had some say in the matter, allowing only beautiful women the chance to inspect his white skin and naughty bits.

The Cruelest Journey Kira Salak

Gender Differences in Travel

“My gender will always make me appear more vulnerable. But to not travel anywhere out of fear, or to remain immobilized in a state of hypervigilance when I do, feels akin to psychological bondage. I do not want to give away that kind of power.”

She doesn’t decry this reality. She does in a way that can be described as literary anthropology. “The Somono fishermen, casting out their nets, puzzle over me as I float by. ‘a va, madame”‘ they yell.”

Each fisherman carries a young son perched in the back of his pointed canoe to do the paddling. The boys stare at me, transfixed; they have never seen such a thing. A white woman. Alone. In a red, inflatable boat. Using a two-sided paddle.

“I’m an even greater novelty because Malian women don’t paddle here, not ever. It is a man’s job. So there is no good explanation for me, and the people want to understand.”

Considering the death-defying adventure she’s chosen the reader wants to understand too. What would compel a person to take such a trip” She addresses this and the very fundamental things that, as I learned when living abroad, mark the difference between tourism and travel.

Why Embark on These Trips”

Concerning “what we look for when we embark on these kinds of trips,” she writes: “There is the pat answer that you tell the people you don’t know: that you’re interested in seeing a place, learning about its people. But then the trip begins and the hardship comes, and hardship is more honest: It tells us that we don’t have enough patience yet, nor humility, nor gratitude. And we thought that we did. Hardship brings us closer to truth, and thus is more difficult to bear, but from it alone comes compassion.”

Salak’s poetic prose, like the parallel narratives of her journey and Park’s, meanders throughout the book like the bends and curves of the Niger itself. “The late afternoon sun settles complacently over the hills to the west. Paddling becomes a sort of meditation now, a gentle trespassing over a river that slumbers. The Niger gives me its beauty almost in apology for the violence of the earlier storms, treating me to smooth silver waters that ripple in the sunlight. The current – if there is one – barely moves. Park described the same grandeur of the Niger during his second journey, in an uncharacteristically sentimental passage that provided a welcome respite from accounts of dying soldiers and baggage stolen by natives.”

Heading Into Deeper Water

Her deft handling of dynamics, coupled with the occasional sweetener of levity make The Cruelest Journey an energetic read. This Restless Books publication and Salak’s other books such as Four Corners: A Journey into the Heart of Papua New Guinea , traverse the depths of the human condition, weaves between fear and bliss, and blurs borders of time and place.

As Jessa Crispin points out in an essay in the Boston Review: “That the market has not sustained the work of other, more rugged, less self-obsessive women travel writers may have more to do with our expectations as readers than with any faults of their writing. We still look to men to tell us about what they do and to women to tell us how they feel.”

Meanwhile, for readers who like their water deeper, there’s the work of Kira Salak.

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Cruelest Journey: Six Hundred Miles To Timbuktu

320 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2004

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"Where is the river of just this morning, with its whitecaps that would have liked to drown me, with its current flowing backward against the wind? Gone to this: a river of smoothest glass, a placidity unbroken by wave or eddy, with islands of lush greenery awaiting me like distant Xanadus. The Niger is like a mercurial god, meting out punishment and benediction on a whim. And perhaps the god of the river sleeps now, returning matters to the mortals who ply its waters?"

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THE CRUELEST JOURNEY: Six Hundred Miles to Timbuktu

Kira salak, . . national geographic, $26 (256pp) isbn 978-0-7922-9790-1.

cruelest journey

Reviewed on: 10/18/2004

Genre: Nonfiction

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Relates the tale of the author's journey of more than six hundred dangerous miles on the Niger River from Mali's Old Segou to Timbuktu, enduring tropical storms and the heat of the Sahara to fulfill... This description may be from another edition of this product.

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Very interesting journey through mali, africa by kayak, i couldn't put it down,, in a kayak, popular categories.

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600 miles to timbuktu, by kira salak.

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Kira Salak became the first person in the world to kayak alone 600 miles on the Niger River of Mali to Timbuktu, retracing the fatal journey of the great Scottish explorer Mungo Park. Enduring tropical storms, hippos, rapids, the unrelenting heat of the Sahara desert, and the mercurial moods of this notorious river, Kira Salak traveled solo through one of the most desolate and dangerous regions in Africa, where little had changed since Mungo Park was taken captive by Moors in 1797. Dependent on locals for food and shelter each night, Salak stayed in remote mud-hut villages on the banks of the Niger, meeting Dogan sorceresses and tribes who alternately revered and reviled her--so remarkable was the sight of an unaccompanied white woman paddling all the way to Timbuktu. Indeed, on one harrowing stretch she barely escaped with her life from men chasing after her in canoes. Finally, weak with dysentery but triumphant, she arrived in the fabled city of Timbuktu and fulfilled her ultimate goal: buying the freedom of two Bella slave women. The Cruelest Journey is both an unputdownable story and a meditation on courage and self-mastery by a young adventuress without equal, whose writing is as thrilling as her life. Praise for The Cruelest Journey "A deeply personal travel memoir, Salak is not merely a traveller, she is an explorer, and her voyage is an expedition of self-discovery. She sets off in ominously stormy weather 206 years to the day after Park did, and shares in cutting detail the encounters of the Niger 'like a mercurial god, meting out punishment and benediction on a whim.' Salak seduces us with an honest audacious story of the splendour and austerity of a journey through a far-off land." – Kirkus Reviews UK "Salak's second travel memoir takes her down the Niger River to Timbuktu, following the trail of Scottish explorer Mungo Park, who more than 200 years before he attempted the same journey. Salak decides to take the journey alone on a kayak, hoping to recapture Park's sense of wonder and determination. Salak's trip is deeply personal, and she shares her fears, her triumphs, and her thoughts along the way with the reader, making it an accessible, involving journey for her audience." –Booklist About the Author Kira Salak won the PEN Award for journalism for her reporting on the war in Congo, and she has appeared five times in Best American Travel Writing . A National Geographic Emerging Explorer and contributing editor for National Geographic Adventure magazine, she was the first woman to traverse Papua New Guinea and the first person to kayak solo 600 miles to Timbuktu. She is the author of three books—the critically acclaimed work of fiction, The White Mary , and two works of nonfiction: Four Corners: A Journey into the Heart of Papua New Guinea (a New York Times Notable Travel Book) and The Cruelest Journey: Six Hundred Miles to Timbuktu . She has a Ph.D. in English, her fiction appearing in Best New American Voices and other anthologies. Her nonfiction has been published in National Geographic , National Geographic Adventure , Washington Post , New York Times Magazine , Travel & Leisure , The Week , Best Women's Travel Writing , The Guardian , and elsewhere. Salak has appeared on TV programs like CBS Evening News, ABC's Good Morning America, and CBC's The Hour. She lives with her husband and daughter in Germany.

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY OCT 18, 2004

As she begins her harrowing solo kayaking journey 600 miles down the Niger River, Salak writes, "Though we may think we chose our journeys, they chose us." This sensitive notion is representative of most of Salak's account of her quest to follow the same route that doomed Scottish explorer Mungo Park paddled 206 years ago, hoping to reach Timbuktu. The book juxtaposes Salak's physical strength with delicate prose. Just as readers might expect from someone who prepared her parents for the chance that she might not return, Salak seems ready for, or at least accepting of, all obstacles, whether a ripped muscle in her arm or kayak thieves. Though tough as nails, she's easy with her feelings, especially her constant fear of not knowing if the villagers near where she camps will be like the friendly Fulani herders, who embrace her as a wayward traveler, or like the Bozos, "young toughs" who mock and threaten her. Few things have changed on the Niger since Park's time, and Salak is open-minded as she accepts the traditions of the villagers' lifestyle and appalled by their practices of mutilation and slavery. After reaching Timbuktu, Salak tries to free two women from slavery; this final act spotlights her best qualities: courage and compassion. Photos, map.

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  1. Literature Review: The Cruelest Journey by Kira Salak

    Her book, The Cruelest Journey, published by Brooklyn-based Restless Books, is a riveting read. It, like her other books and National Geographic stories, reveals a women who eschews the easy route, the cliché destination. Salak has crossed Papua New Guinea and made a 700-mile cycling trip across Alaska to the Arctic Ocean. She has ventured into Iranian vistas where local travel guides don ...

  2. Cruelest Journey: Six Hundred Miles To Timbuktu

    "Cruelest Journey" matches Park's final expedition with Salak's intention to test herself against the river, to open herself up to the world along its banks. Physical exhaustion and isolation, cultural shock and sickness--- Salak teaches herself to face all those things. This isn't a book about Timbuktu, and the arrival there is an anticlimax.

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    THE CRUELEST JOURNEY. 600 MILES TO TIMBUKTU. Read Excerpts from "The Cruelest Journey" REVIEWS "A deeply personal travel memoir, Salak is not merely a traveller, she is an explorer, and her voyage is an expedition of self-discovery. She sets off in ominously stormy weather 206 years to the day after Park did, and shares in cutting detail the ...

  4. The Cruelest Journey: Six Hundred Miles To Timbuktu

    The Cruelest Journey is both an unputdownable story and a meditation on courage and self-mastery by a young adventuress without equal, whose writing is as thrilling as her life. About the Author. Kira Salak won the PEN Award for journalism for her reporting on the war in Congo, and she has appeared five times in Best American Travel Writing. A ...

  5. Cruelest Journey: Six Hundred Miles To Timbuktu

    Cruelest Journey: Six Hundred Miles To Timbuktu. Hardcover - November 1, 2004. At the age of thirty-two, Kira Salak is already an adventurer with a long history of seeking impossible challenges. Here she documents her most ambitious journey yet: six hundred unforgiving miles on the Niger River through Mali, from Old Segou to Timbuktu - a feat ...

  6. The Cruelest Journey: Six Hundred Miles to Timbuktu

    Praise for The Cruelest Journey "A deeply personal travel memoir, Salak is not merely a traveller, she is an explorer, and her voyage is an expedition of self-discovery. She sets off in ominously stormy weather 206 years to the day after Park did, and shares in cutting detail the encounters of the Niger 'like a mercurial god, meting out ...

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    Unputdownable and breathtakingly suspenseful, The Cruelest Journey: Six Hundred Miles to Timbuktu is a beautifully rendered meditation on courage and self-mastery by an audacious and inspiring young traveler and wordsmith. Product Details; About the Author; Product Details. ISBN-13: 9781632060679: Publisher: Restless Books:

  8. THE CRUELEST JOURNEY: Six Hundred Miles to Timbuktu

    THE CRUELEST JOURNEY: Six Hundred Miles to Timbuktu. Kira Salak, . . National Geographic, $26 (256pp) ISBN 978--7922-9790-1. As she begins her harrowing solo kayaking journey 600 miles down the ...

  9. The Cruelest Journey by Kira Salak

    The Cruelest Journey is both an unputdownable story and a meditation on courage and self-mastery by a young adventuress without equal, whose writing is as thrilling as her life. Kira Salak won the PEN Award for journalism for her reporting on the war in Congo, and she has appeared five times in Best American Travel Writing.

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    THE CRUELEST JOURNEY: SIX HUNDRED MILES TO TIMBUKTU . Read Excerpts from The Cruelest Journey. Kira Salak became the first person in the world to kayak alone 600 miles on the Niger River of Mali to Timbuktu, retracing the fatal journey of the great Scottish explorer Mungo Park. Enduring tropical storms, hippos, rapids, the unrelenting heat of ...

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    The Cruelest Journey is aptly named. Indeed, Salak recounts a grueling journey inside an inflatable red kyak, 600 miles along the Niger River in the West African country, Mali. She encounters both friendly and hostile villagers, calm and stormy weather, hunger, injury, sickness, potentially dangerous hippos, and incredible uncertainty. ...

  15. The Cruelest Journey: Six Hundred Miles To Timbuktu

    Kindle. $14.99 Read with our free app. Hardcover. $6.12 23 Used from $2.53. A young adventurer with a history of seeking impossible challenges, Kira Salak became the first person in the world to kayak alone the six hundred miles on the Niger River to Timbuktu—"the golden city of the Middle Ages" and fabled "doorway to the end of the ...

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    The cruelest journey by Kira Salak. Publication date 2005 Topics Salak, Kira, -- 1971- -- Travel -- Niger River., Canoes and canoeing -- Niger River., Niger River -- Description and travel., Africa, West -- Description and travel. Publisher National Geographic Collection inlibrary; printdisabled; internetarchivebooks

  17. Excerpt from "Cruelest Journey" a book by Kira Salak

    Excerpt from Chapter 1. In the beginning, my journeys feel at best ludicrous, at worst insane. This one is no exception. The idea is to paddle nearly 600 miles on the Niger River in a kayak, alone, from the Malian town of Old Ségou to Timbuktu. And now, at the very hour when I have decided to leave, a thunderstorm bursts open the skies ...

  18. Kira Salak

    White Mary, Four Corners. Notable awards. PEN Literary Award, 2004. Kira Salak (born September 4, 1971) is an American writer, adventurer, and journalist known for her travels in Mali and Papua New Guinea. She has written two books of nonfiction and a book of fiction based on her travels and is a contributing editor at National Geographic magazine.

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    Cruelest Journey by Kira Salak, 2005, National Geographic edition, in English. It looks like you're offline. Donate ♥. Čeština (cs) Deutsch (de) English (en) ...

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    The Cruelest Journey is both an unputdownable story and a meditation on courage and self-mastery by a young adventuress without equal, whose writing is as thrilling as her life. Praise for The Cruelest Journey "A deeply personal travel memoir, Salak is not merely a traveller, she is an explorer, and her voyage is an expedition of self-discovery.

  21. Book Review: The Cruelest Journey

    The Cruelest Journey: 600 Miles To Timbuktu, by Kira Salak. Although the nation of Mali does not often cross my radar as an interesting place to read about, is a desperately poor country to boot [1], as someone who likes reading books about interesting travels [2], this book caught my attention, as cruel journeys are something that sounds very ...

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