The Village of Waiting

Name: The Village of Waiting
Price: 12.99 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.5 (52 reviews)
Author: Packer, George

by Packer, George

Memoir Biography Memoir

4.5 (52)

4.5 stars from 52 reviews

353 pages~5.9 hr readPublished by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

$12.99Near peak price

Last checked: Apr 18, 2026

Hidden GemHighly rated but flying under the radar. Fewer readers have found this one yet.

Price history: $0.75 – $14.09

While not the biggest discount we've seen for this book, it's still a great deal and we recommend grabbing it before price returns to its normal range.

Price range: $0.75 – $14.09

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Perfect for you if...

You're curious about life outside the Western bubble and want a non-romantic account of what development work actually feels like on the ground.
You appreciate character-driven memoirs that capture specific places through the people who inhabit them rather than sweeping generalisations.
You've read travel writing or international reportage and want something more intimate, grounded in real relationships and the friction between tradition and aspiration.

Maybe not for you if...

You're looking for a feel-good inspiration story about changing lives. Packer's account is honest about limits and contradictions, not heroic.
You prefer fast-paced narratives. This is a slow, observational book about waiting, repetition, and cultural distance.
You want practical advice on volunteering or development. This is memoir first, not a guide.

About this book

Now restored to print with a new Foreword by Philip Gourevitch and an Afterword by the author, The Village of Waiting is an account of contemporary life in West Africa. George Packer served as a Peace Corps instructor in the village of Lavié (meaning "wait a little more") in Togo, where he documents his experiences with the townspeople—peasants, chiefs, charlatans, children, market women, and others. Through these encounters, Packer explores the lives of villagers who have abandoned or lost much of their traditional identity and placed their hopes in "development." He reveals how they find themselves caught between the familiar patterns of rural life and the monotony of waiting for change.

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Price History

Kindle price over time. Green zones = periods when the book was free.

$0.75 – $14.09

Price has dropped 15 times over the last 19 months. Goes on sale roughly every 38 days. Typically stays discounted for 8 days.

Sales Rank

Amazon sales rank: lower number = better selling book. #1 is the bestseller.

Currently around #735K in the Kindle store — a niche title. Climbing the charts — 25% improvement recently.

Rating & Reviews

Purple line = star rating over time. Blue area = total review count growth.

Currently 4.5★ from 52 reviews

Review activity has been quiet recently. Rating has remained stable at 4.5 over the tracking period.

Sale Prediction

Actual Predicted

Based on past patterns, a price drop could happen soon. It typically goes on sale every 38 days and the last drop was 61 days ago. Typical discount: 95% off.

Prices shown in USD from Amazon US. We continuously pull new data to improve tracking. If dates look old, it usually means there has been no significant change since the last data point.