Over the Lip of the World: Among the Storytellers of Madagascar (Samuel and Althea Stroum Book) - Softcover

A Piquant glimpse into Malagasy storytelling, set to advantage by the kind of poised writing that makes one slow down, read carefully, savor. * Kirkus Reviews * A fascinating look at a part of the world not often explored. * Booklist * McElroy's well-worded account of the sights, sounds, and people of Madagascar offers the reader a genuine sense of place. Filled with magic and intrigue, Over the Lip of the World will take its readers precisely there. * Rain Taxi *

Gifted travel writer, poet, professor of English, and insightful observer of human nature, Colleen McElroy journeyed to Madagascar to undertake a Fulbright research project exploring Malagasy oral traditions and myths. In Over the Lip of the World she depicts with equal verve the various storytelling traditions of the island and her own adventures in trying to find and record them. McElroy's tale of an African American woman's travels among the people of Madagascar is told with wit, insight, and humor. Throughout it she interweaves English translations of Malagasy stories of heroism and morality, royalty and commoners, love and revenge, and the magic of tricksters and shapechangers.