The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

I read William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer’s The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind in preparation for selecting the Common Read book at Eastern Oregon University for 2012-13. Essentially, we look for a book that is first of all engaging and is also accessible for first-year students, relates to a variety of disciplines, and provides a springboard for discussing issues of difference and discrimination. Once selected, the book will be assigned in all first-year experience courses, which serve incoming students with fewer than 30 college credits, and may be used in a variety of other courses serving first-year students.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind certainly fulfills expectations for a Common Read book. Kamkwamba’s story is engaging. While I found some of the discussion of the famine depressing, I really enjoyed reading of William’s cleverness in building and revamping his windmill, supported by photos and diagrams. I especially liked the pride with which William’s father responded to his efforts. When William pretends to be a radio reporter asking his father about the electric lights in his home, William’s father says that he enjoys the lights “’more than a city person.’” When William asks whether this pleasure comes from the fact that there are “’no blackouts,’” Williams father says, “’Well, yes’ [. . .] But also, because my own son made it’” (203). Such a strong father-son bond makes up for all of the difficulty the family experienced and reminds me of the heart-warming moment in the recent film Hugo where filmmaker Georges Melies claims Hugo as belonging to him.

I think Kamkwamba and Mealer’s book would be good for first-year students because it acquaints them with part of the world, Malawi, about which they may not before have learned. I think the drama of the famine followed by the success of the windmill would keep students reading, and the language is not difficult. Moreover, reading about William’s life puts the reader into his experiences, almost as if the reader had traveled there to meet him. Kamkwamba’s voice is inviting in its enthusiasm and the way it is not quite as polished as one might find in other creative non-fiction. For example, when William first goes away to school, he shares a bed with a student who doesn’t wash his feet. When he attends the African Leadership Academy, he jokes about his Kenyan roommate. “But Githiora isn’t forced to share my bed, and anyway, I’m pretty sure he washes his feet more frequently than my previous roommate” (270). That gentle joke represents Kamkwamba’s charming voice throughout, as if he is smiling while he writes, even through his difficult times. Finally, rural Oregon students may connect easily with rural Malawi’s dependence on harvest and distance from urban centers of political power.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind represents a good choice in terms of disciplinary breadth. It addresses anthropology, sociology, physics, political science, education, economics, business, agriculture, history, and global culture. The exploration of difference and discrimination would also be attractive, as William’s experiences might be examined in terms of nationality and ethnicity, of class within Malawian culture, and of masculinity and gender roles.

I can think of only a few potential weaknesses for the EOU first-year student population:

1) Malawi might be too distant for students to feel the story to be relevant. Moreover, the truth of the famine and lack of modern conveniences might simply reinforce the stereotype of Africa as underdeveloped and suffering.

2) The other potential weakness for the EOU student population is the focus on windmills, which represent a strenuously debated local topic. Because I’m from California and have grown up with wind farms on the horizon, I think they’re kind of pretty, and I’m interested in the potential for wind to provide more environmentally sustainable renewable energy than dams. However, students sensitive to the arguments against windmills published repeatedly in the local newspaper by their own neighbors may feel the assignment of a book on windmills represents a liberal plot to advocate for windmills and, worse, convert good conservatives to the liberal agenda.

On the other hand, the dialogue about windmills might prove energetic and provide an opportunity for all to get further educated on the topic.

Work Cited

Kamkwamba, William and Bryan Mealer. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. New York: William Morrow, 2009. Print.

Image Source

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Book Cover Image. amazon.com. 14 Feb. 2012. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=The+Boy+Who+Harnessed+the+Wind&x=0&y=0