When Things Get Dark: A Mongolian Winter's Tale

As a writer and former Peace Corps Volunteer, I've read a lot of Peace Corps memoirs. This one is better than most, if only because it goes beyond the sort of daily journal that so many of them are. Here, the author presents a real story–a narrative arc that shows his descent from newly arrived volunteer to a depressed and alcoholic expat, culminating in a dramatic climax and resolution.

Along the way, Davis does share a lot of his experiences, most of which are interesting and revealing of Mongolian society, peppered with short essays about Mongolian history. I found the history interesting, for the most part, because I don't know all that much about Mongolia. (But I do know some: in my former job for the World Bank, I visited Ulaanbaatar (the capital of “Outer” Mongolia, the country where Davis worked) for a few days, and also visited Hohot (the capital of “Inner” Mongolia, an autonomous region of China); and in my job before that I lived in Kazakhstan and visited Uzbekistan, territory conquered and influenced by Ghengis Khan.)

When I read a Peace Corps memoir, inevitably I compare the author's experience to my own as a volunteer in South Korea. In this case, my service was 25 years prior to Davis's, and yet his living and work situation were in some ways just as primitive as my own, or perhaps more so. Like Davis, I was often lonely. In my first year, I considered terminating early. I'm glad I didn't, but it wasn't always easy. I didn't drink as much as Davis did, probably because my personality is such that I remained somewhat aloof from my fellow teachers. Certainly drinking in South Korea was a major activity, but it never got the best of me. When I worked in Kazakhstan, I claimed allergies and didn't drink at all, because I knew the quantities of vodka would be too much for me. In all the work I did for the World Bank in China, I managed to drink just enough to be polite to my hosts.

But I enjoyed the book, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in either the Peace Corps or Mongolia.