King Peggy

A strange, fun story about an administrative assistant from the Ghanaian Embassy in DC who finds out she's a king, or chief, of a small village in coastal Ghana. Written in simple, clear language as if it's a novel, the story is compelling and Peggy's voice is sweet. We get a whirlwind tour of rural Ghanaian culture, development issues, life in DC (!) and some dabs of feminism - all very nice.

At times, the telling of the tale felt a little too pat, especially with the relatively stark distinction between the “good” guys (Peggy, some of her more progressive elders) and the “bad” guys (the mean, crusty old elders). The lack of ambiguity made me a bit doubtful that I was getting the full 360. Similarly, while Peggy's voice is sweet, there is an occasional air of self-congratulatory “holier than thou”-ness. I don't necessarily doubt Peggy's intentions, or even actions, really, but it did slow down the reading a bit.