Erika Sólyom: Szenegálom (My Senegal*) (Napkút Kiadó 2020)
Many thanks to Napkút Kiadó for sending me the book!
Linguist and language teacher Erika Sólyom went on January 11, 2011 on the memorable journey from which this book was born. The author spent 11 days in Senegal giving a glimpse into the everyday lives of the locals. The love for the wolof language, the people, food and music of Senegal was born during the author’s years in New York and has since been waiting for the opportunity to personally visit this interesting country.
The book is not an ordinary travel book, we can read the personal experiences and impressions of the author, which is permeated by the love she feels for the country and the people. Her descriptions are so expressive that we can almost smell the scent of the incenses and the delicious food and see the bustle of the streets in the sparkling sunshine.
Erika Sólyom first met with the Senegalese singer Cheikh Lô in New York when she volunteered on the singer’s tour and fell in love with his songs. And in Senegal, she had the opportunity to revive their friendship again. The main message of the book to me was that we don’t have to wait forever for the right moment to make an old dream come true, but we have to seize the opportunity because that’s the only way we can achieve our goal.
*my translation
