Review of Man Mission

[Ochieng Omuodo]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Man Mission" by Eytan Uliel.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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If the aim of writing Man Mission was just to communicate his personal development experiences, then Eytan Uliel transcended that. He ended up representing very many men. I saw the book described as something of a roman a clef in a blurb and thought it was an appropriate label. However, it is certainly not fictitious in its theme. It describes the adventures of various jaunts in juxtaposition to an analysis of the journey of life through the experiences of Eytan, the protagonist. Although the protagonist is never actually named, enough aspects of this story mimic that of the author’s background to make that deduction. Eytan shares his journey with Sam, Daniel, and Alec, his best friends. Annually, for 15 years, the ‘boys’ travel to locations in 14 countries around the world and come out of the other end of these experiences as ‘men’. They undertake the ‘manly’ activities of hiking, kayaking, cycling, and diets that include some questionable delicacies. In between the account of these adventures, the author weaves stories of their lives to show how their mixed experiences progress from bachelorhood, through marriage and having kids, to divorce.

The best feature of this book is the portrayal of the friends’ lives as adventures with just as many challenges and triumphs as the annual missions. This feature is enhanced by the author’s writing style. In between the missions, he uses flashbacks to give the story a back-and-forth swing that provides background information about many situations and events. The vivid descriptions of their globe-trotting, fun-filled, exotic jaunts are envy-inducing. Similarly realistic are the descriptions of the typically guy stuff like coarse banter, competitive bravado, and suppressed emotions through their experiences of courtship, marriage, raising children, divorce, and death.

There is a lot of humour seasoned with witty phrases. For example, ‘midlife vertigo’ is used to describe the manifestation of midlife crisis. In the end we see how the men change personally, while the way in which the missions are conducted also evolves. That change is evident in how the missions progress from being ad hoc, super-macho adventures to responsibly planned trips, which reflect the shifting way of life as the men mature. I liken the fate of these four gentlemen’s relationships and marriage to the crossing of the Mara River. The Mara is a river in between Kenya and Tanzania that millions of wildebeest must cross annually. They can see clearly crocodiles waiting for them, but their lives are defined by the event. Eytan and company must also take their chances by taking their lives into their own hands.

I found fault with only one aspect of the book. Unfortunately, it is a major one. Rachel, the single most important person in Eytan’s journey, is treated shabbily. She is either an angel, when she is Eytan’s girlfriend and fiancée, or a shrew in marriage. And most of her scolding and nagging are attributable to the stress of raising multiple little children at once, which would get the better of any parent. There is little about her background or personality. Therefore, she does not come across as a holistic character. By extension, we cannot tell why their marriage is in trouble. The marital conflict is like an elephant in the room that goes unacknowledged even when it is charging all over the place. These shortcomings give the book an incomplete feel.

Nevertheless, this is a communicative book. The author presents the story as if he is having a conversation with the reader. He skilfully weaves the man missions around his experience of life and how these relate to typical conceptions of what men are expected to be. If I add to this the fact that I only encountered a couple of grammatical errors, then this book is nearly perfect. However, the under-development of a primary character hurt the story enough for me to give the book three out of four stars instead of the maximum rating.

The book will appeal to men who feel suffocated by their perceived social roles in contemporary times. Also, women who want to further ‘confuse’ themselves about the inner-workings of the male psyche may rather enjoy it. It should be evident from the foregoing that this is a book about manly exploits and, therefore, you should expect to find it thoroughly coloured by gratuitous cursing and expletives. If you have a low tolerance for such, then this is not the book for you.

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Man Mission
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[Raymonda onwuka]

Man mission what a name. Taking an annual trip must be a refreshing one for the four gentlemen. This story sounds engaging. Thanks for the great review.

[Ochieng Omuodo]

Thank you, Raymonda.