Two Stops Past Siberia

The old axiom that a book should not be judged by its cover is true of Mr. Rosenberg’s unfortunately titled novel, This is Not Civilization. The strength of that axiom is put to the test, however, as the cover seems to extend through the first half of the book.

The first notable here is that this is not a Peace Corps experience book. It is a work of fiction that draws on one character’s (and presumably the author’s) Peace Corps experience for back story.

The narrative begins with the two protagonists together on an Apache reservation in Arizona. The first is Jeff, a recent college grad from Phoenix who is finishing up a stint working there, the second, Adam, is a young Apache who lives there on the rez. From here they part ways, and the story follows the next seven years of their lives in a clunky collection of poorly drawn parallels. Jeff joins the Peace Corps, dislikes it, and after finishing moves to Istanbul. Adam graduates college and then bums around New York City.

While all this is happening, Mr. Rosenberg offers us a series of slim glimpses into the lives of Jeff’s Peace Corps homestay family. While these serve the purpose of getting us attached to his host father and sister, the moments come across as little more than lifeless sensationalisms. In encountering daily trials, like stinky outhouses, questionable meat, the characters react with the surprise of maladjusted foreigners.

The book doesn’t really begin until the characters all descend on Jeff’s new setup in Istanbul. At this point, the story becomes interesting and the plotline novel. However, expect a deus ex machina ending, with cop-out resolutions.

In many ways, the book seems to be a collection of missed opportunities. Had it been told from the first person, the narration would have honest and vulnerable. Instead, it comes across as haughty and negative. Had it started in Istanbul, with flashes back to older times, the reader would have been delightfully engaged throughout. Instead, while the individual elements of this book had a real potential for a valuable story of parallels, the resulting piece comes to little more than a sum of its parts. Like too many books in this genre, it relies more on the exoticness of its subject that the quality of the writing.

Drawing so heavily on Mr. Rosenberg’s Peace Corps Kyrgyzstan experience, and the only book written on the subject, This is Not Civilization is well known in country. Unfortunately, opinions are almost entirely negative. The title offends the locals, as well as the happy volunteers. Cultural sore points, like bridal kidnapping, while true, do not occur with the frequency Mr. Rosenberg portrays them. Furthermore, rumor abounds that the people in Mr. Rosenberg’s old village speak ill of him, a dagger to any volunteer’s legacy. This all, along with unnecessary cultural jabs, like relating the prolific national hats to grammar school dunce caps, leaves anyone with a connection to this place a bad taste in their mouth.

Avoid.