a note on style.

Since moving to Madagascar, I have immersed myself in books that take place in Africa or are written by Africans. Not only has this helped me learn more about the history and people of this diverse continent, but it somehow provides a sense of comfort reading about commonalities and generalities of the African experience. Recent books I've read such as "Dark Star Safari" by Paul Theroux, "July's People" by Nadine Gordimer, "Bitter Fruit" by Achmat Dangor and even "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver offer perspective on what my own life is like here, even though these books all take place in other parts of the African continent at large.

So when I recently read a passage describing the style of dress of Congolese people in "The Poisonwood Bible," I had to dog-ear the page so I could share it here. I could not write a better paragraph about the Malagasy style that I see for myself daily. Here it is:

"Children dressed up in the ragbags of Baptist charity or else nothing at all. Color coordination is not a strong point. Grown men and women seem to think a red plaid and a pink floral print are complementary colors. The women wear a sarong made of one fabric, with another big square of a different fabric wrapped over the top of it. Never jeans or trousers- not on your life... Women are expected to wear just the one style of garment and no other. But the men, now that is a course of a different color. They dress up every different way in the world: some have long shirts made from the same flowery African cloth that is attired by the women... Others wear American-style buttoned shirts and shorts in drab, stained colors. A few of the smaller men even go gallivanting around in little undershirts decorated with childish prints, and nobody seems to notice the joke. As for the accessories... black rubber galoshes unbuckled and flapping open, or bright pink plastic thongs, or bare feet- any of these can go with any of the before-mentioned outfits. Sunglasses, plain glasses, hats, no hats, likewise. Perhaps even a knit woolen cap with a ball on top, or a woman's bright yellow beret- I have witnessed all these wonders and more. The attitude toward clothing seems to be: if you have it, why not wear it? Some men go about their daily business prepared for the unexpected tropical snowstorm, it seems, while others wear shockingly little- a pair of shorts only. When you look around, it appears that every man here was fixing to go to a different party, and then suddenly they all got plunked here together."