I stumbled on this memoir…somewhere, and it sounded intriguing. The author spent part of her childhood in Nigeria and later in Peru, following her father’s employment opportunities. The title references childhood memories of what amounts to grave robbing in Peru with her family as a child. Wallen’s descriptions of the clashing of cultures was vivid, but the perspective of a child who perpetually feels abandoned and unmoored got repetitive, fast. I also think that there’s fundamentally something about writing from the point of view of a child that doesn’t necessarily work for me. Simplistic thinking and lack of understanding of nuance is of course understandable from a kid, but it’s an adult actually writing, so I’d prefer to have some of that mature insight woven into the narrative. I also felt there was some uncomfortable “othering” of the cultures Wallen writes about, particularly when writing about the violence in Lagos. I don’t doubt that the depiction is accurate, but it really takes a deft hand for a white American outsider to write about such subjects and not have it have come off as culturally insensitive, at best. My grade for When We Were Ghouls was a C.

I think I was expecting something less white people privilege and something more macabre. Wallen was not a happy child and it seems like for good reason but failed to really engage me since she didn't really seem to confront her privilege beyond acknowledging it. I mean, I get it that when you feel so neglected and unthought of, it really is what colors everything in your life but it felt like there was another story that could've been here too. A skull in your pantry is not as macabre as it is completely rude to the human being and culture that buried it but maybe I felt that because I'm an archaeologist keenly set on ethical treatment of remains.

This was a very interesting book. The author did an amazing job of put down her thoughts and feelings of growing up in foreign lands and cultures. The emotions that came through were insightful, and the description of the different cultures through the eyes of child were interesting. The author showed how people remember things differently and as we grow old the memories sometimes change. A truly interesting book.

I really enjoyed this book. As the teacher in charge of stocking the senior school library, I like to ensure that the books are diverse and the students are exposed to both excellent fiction and excellent modern non-fiction. I think that this is both a fascinating and well-written book that has much to recommend it and will keep the students interests. It is good to stretch their reading interests by providing them with books about subjects they might never have considered before and this definitely does the job well. It is also good to find books that I know the teaching staff might enjoy as well as the students and I definitely think that this applies in both cases. Absolutely recommend wholeheartedly; a fantastic read.

when we were ghouls by Amy e wallen.
In this quick-paced and riveting narrative, Wallen exorcizes these haunted memories to clarify the nature of her family and, by extension, her own character. Plumbing the slipperiness of memory and confronting what it means to be a “good” human, When We Were Ghouls links the fear of loss and mortality to childhood ideas of permanence. It is a story about family, surely, but it is also a representation of how a combination of innocence and denial can cause us to neglect our most precious earthly treasures: not just our children but the artifacts of humanity and humanity itself.
 This was a good read. although I found it slow in places. I liked the story Amy wrote. 4*.

A memoir written by a woman trying to verify her strange memories of occasional grave robbing with her family growing up with frequent moves to unusual destinations, and some really odd memories that she can’t seem to decide if they are real or fantasy. Her siblings aren’t much help in sorting it out, so she tries fact-checking what she can on the internet and with maps, but ultimately she has to ask her parents to get the true story and she can’t wait much longer as they are already up in years, and her father is quickly losing his memory to illness. She needs to know soon, before its too late. Did they really disturb an actual grave of a prince who was buried with his faithful dog beside him? And after taking pieces of pottery and cloth that the man was buried in, along with the metal that had adorned his head...did the diggers scurry back after they left to grab the real prize, the gold buried under the body that Amy and her family has apparently been ignorant of? Being happy with their stolen trinkets (which was a serious enough crime) and may have cursed the family as it was.

An advance digital copy was provided by NetGalley, Amy E. Wallen, and the University of Nebraska Press for my review. Date of publication March 1, 2018

Amy Wallen's life has been anything but ordinary. Nevada, Nigeria, Peru, Bolivia and Oklahoma. Theses are the travels of a journalist, this was the life of a little girl and her family. Much of this is questioning her own memories versus what really happened and what really happened to what she believed.

This is about ghosts and ghouls, but more about the ghosts of our own lives, our own past.

Thanks to NetGalley, Amy Wallen and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The author Amy Wallen had an interesting childhood. Her father worked for an oil company so travel throughout the world was necessary. She went from a small town in Nevada to Nigeria to Peru to Bolivia.
Amy's story gives us an insight into living in these places. It also gives us a glance into her thoughts growing up. She always seemed to feel alone and worried she would be forgotten by everyone.
I am just a few years older than Amy and I know and recognize what she talks about. I did enjoy the journey into her world.

I am a sucker for a good title and a good cover and this book definitely had both. The book itself was less desirable. The writing is pretty good but I didn’t find the story of the authors life too interesting. I think that maybe this simply isn’t my kind of book.