Hofman, C. (1998). The white masai: My exotic tale of love and adventure (P. Miller, Trans.). New York: Harper Collins.

Corinne Hofmann’s real-life tale of her marriage to a Masai warrior was, for me, a can’t-put-down-can’t-take-bathroom-break-oh-darn-I-prefer-to-read-this book-than-go-to-work kind of book. I’ve been trying to get around to blogging this one, but I don’t have much spare time at the moment. (“Spare time!” Ouch! My sides! My sides! There’s a laugh.)

From a cultural point of view, I was really captivated by Corinne’s struggle to make her relationship work and her struggle to live in the Masai world. I read the book a couple of months ago already, and I still have images of painfully long, dusty, bumpy, uncomfortably hot bus rides through the Kenyan landscape. I can envision the dangerous buffalo blocking the steep, rocky road to the remote Masai village ahead―to the side, a precipice leading to certain death; to the other side a wall of rock. And, I can only imagine the frustration of suffering the ridicule of the Nairobi bureaucrats laughing at the thought of a Swiss-German woman living with the Masai. 

Corinne relates how she lived in manyattas, how she suffered repeated bouts of malaria and other illnesses, her experiences in the Kenyan hospitals, Masai cuisine, the effects of miraa and beer on her husband, and the long rides in the matatus.

As a person who loves travelling and who embraces adventure, this story put ME ill-at-ease. I felt that her desire for this man with whom she could barely communicate was impetuous. And, each decision she made seemed to me to move her closer to impending problems. Yet, I could not tear myself away from her story.

The White Masai was made into a movie. I haven’t seen it yet, but it is on my list. There is a good review and some video at: http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s1685652.htm.