Parallel Worlds: An Anthropologist and a Writer Encounter Africa

This suspenseful and moving memoir of Africa recounts the experiences of Alma Gottlieb, an anthropologist, and Philip Graham, a fiction writer, as they lived in two remote villages in the rain forest of Cote d’Ivoire. With an unusual coupling of first-person narratives, their alternate voices tell a story imbued with sweeping narrative power, humility, and gentle humor. Parallel Worlds is a unique look at Africa, anthropological fieldwork, and the artistic process.

“A remarkable look at a remote society [and] an engaging memoir that testifies to a loving partnership . . . compelling.”—James Idema, Chicago Tribune