Democratic Republic of the Congo
Capital:
Kinshasa
Continent:
Africa
Maps:
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| African continent. Democratic Republic of the Congo outlined in dark ink. |
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| A close-up of the Democratic Republic of the Congo & its neighbors. |
Neighbors:
Central African Republic, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola, Republic of the Congo
Water Borders:
Lake Albert, Lake Edward, Lake Kivu, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Mweru, Congo River, Atlantic Ocean
Total Area:
905,355 square miles
Five Largest Cities:
Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, Goma, Mbuji-Mayi, Kisangani
Famous Geographical Point:
Congo River
Famous Person:
Dikembe Mutombo, basketball player (famous for blocking shots, you may recognize him from a recent series of commercials where he does that with objects other than basketballs)
Book Set In/About:
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
This novel follows the fate of an American missionary family in the Congo during the middle of the 20th century. I've read it a few times & loved it each time, but it's been so long I don't recall much of what happens.
Movie Set In/About:
"Kinshasa Symphony" (2010), directed by Claus Wischmann & Martin Baer
A documentary about Kinshasa's symphony orchestra.
Headline of the Day:
"Democratic Republic of Congo Jail Break Frees Nearly 1000, Leaves Guards Dead" in The Sydney Morning Herald
I'll tell you what happens in that book. The father drags his wife and four daughters to the Congo and completely destroys the village he goes to save, as well as irreparably alters the lives of his children. I intensely dislike that book. It makes me very angry, though I would be willing to agree it's well written. Any time I find someone who doesn't like Kingsolver, I make sure to check to see if that's the only book of hers they have read. If yes, I strongly recommend another of her books, because that one is such an outlier.
ReplyDeleteIn non-rant news, I find it interesting that there are so many lakes. And big lakes, at that.
I definitely remember it being one of those books that I liked even though so many terrible things happened in it. But yes, very different from anything else of hers I've read! I, too, find it interesting that there are so many large lakes on the border of DRC.
ReplyDelete