At first I was a little taken aback that this book was not written in the voice of Lady Duff Gordon, on whose letters this novel was based. I thought At first I was a little taken aback that this book was not written in the voice of Lady Duff Gordon, on whose letters this novel was based. I thought I might prefer the voice of the woman whose entrance into a room made the party brighter, suddenly more fashionable, very au courant. Lady Duff Gordon suffered from a malady of the lungs, which required a warm, dry climate rather than that of England at the turn of the 20th century. She left her family and moved to Egypt with her ladies’ maid and spent the bulk of her time in Luxor, home of the tombs of the pharaohs and the Sphinx. She enjoyed a wide circle of friends among the local intelligentsia.
Little was recorded of her ladies’ maid, Sally Naldrett, but this is a book told in her voice—how first Lady Gordon shed her English clothing and mannerisms, and then Sally did. How they both became acclimatized to life in Egypt, learned Arabic, and how Sally felt she had shed her old, lonely maid’s life for a life both warm and passionate. How she outgrew her position of servility alone, and became a woman on her own terms. The story is lightly and quickly told, but develops an urgency in its later pages that belies the sunny outlook of its beginning.
In writing this novel, Kate Pullinger drew on biography of Gordon written by Katherine Frank, called Lucie Duff Gordon: A Passage to Egypt, published in 1995. It was republished in 2007 by Tauris Parke Paperbacks and is said to show the sparkling nature of the vivacious Lady Gordon. A darker side of that character is hinted at in this novel, leaving lingering questions about a widely admired woman whose family shunned her, and who shunned others, brutally and unforgivably, in return. One is eager to turn to the original materials to get to the heart of the matter. One feels sure there is still a novel in the material there, this time from the view of Lady Duff Gordon (1821-1869), whom even the Prince and Princess of Wales came to visit in Luxor when she was too ill to travel.
This is a small, pocket-sized book that will reliably transport you to shores unknown. For the investment (e.g., time, money), this is well worth the dreaming....more
Debut novels that reach the dizzying heights of international prize lists are always a draw. This book seems to have had an unusual amount of buzz surDebut novels that reach the dizzying heights of international prize lists are always a draw. This book seems to have had an unusual amount of buzz surrounding it since its publication. I read the enthusiasm of reviewers and was disappointed I could not share in it. I wonder what I was missing. Sometimes when a lauded book misses for me, I listen to the audio track of the book in hopes that someone reading it for me will give it the inflection I am missing. Perhaps I will one day do this and will have a different take.
This book seemed to lack a center and defining core. An eleven-year-old Ghanian immigrant living in slum housing in city-suburban London comes across the dead body of a schoolmate lying bloodied by the chicken take-out where he was murdered. Taught by American TV shows how to investigate crimes, he and a friend play at uncovering the perpetrator. This is a plot big enough to hang a masterpiece on, so I can see the reason for some excitement. However, the promise was not fulfilled.
The author used dialect expressed through the eleven-year-old’s first person narration, and had some success with that. The confusion and misunderstanding of a young boy gazing out at an adult and brutal world comes across. However, there was some key enlightenment--some grace, perhaps--that the author had to grant to his character and to us, the viewers, that was missing. I had no sense of a great pathos, or of this character as a player on the grand stage. It was small story, and I felt some discomfort (boredom, dare I say?) listening to the not-very-deep musings of a young, undereducated boy confronting some of the most horrendous personal violence any of us will encounter in a lifetime. ‘It coulda been a contender’ but didn’t get the heart of the matter right. ...more
This book was published in 2008, and yet it foretells the Arab Spring of 2011 clearly. In the preface, Wright quotes a human rights activist:
“The des
This book was published in 2008, and yet it foretells the Arab Spring of 2011 clearly. In the preface, Wright quotes a human rights activist:
“The despots in the Arab world are on their last gasp,” he reflected. “Just like any last-ditch battles, they will do a lot of stupid things and leave a lot of destruction. But these will be the last battles. People have already broken the fear barrier. They are as ready for change and democracy as East Europe was in the 1980s and as Latin America was in the 1970s. History is moving. The moment is ours.”(prologue, p. 6)
Robin Wright may be the Middle East analyst with the most access—she seems to travel unhindered whenever and wherever she chooses to visit. Wright so clearly loves the Middle East, and Iran in particular, that we begin to love it, too. We especially love the brave men and women who risk their lives to demand a voice, in Iran and Syria for example. The demand for civil rights for blacks, perhaps, is the last time we have seen peaceful resistance and a stand on righteousness in this country. It can be violent, but it is extraordinarily effective.
In this book, written for a non-specialist in Middle East politics, Wright introduces us simply, clearly to the major players, excluding Israel. She writes of modern Arab history, beginning with The Palestinians, moving to Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and Morocco. We are given major, still-relevant events in recent history for each group, and interviews with both government and dissident voices. The lines of dissension couldn’t be clearer, and though the Israel/Palestine divide is rarely mentioned after the first sections, this is the context within which all the Middle East labors. Besides that, each country has its own particular geography and political history to enter the equations for peace and stability. A throwing off of long-governing autocrats doesn’t seem impossible: Wright makes it seem inevitable. Which makes one wonder, “why can’t the leaders see that?” Does she make it too simple for us? Certainly her descriptions make me want to go to the Middle East myself, to see for myself, if only it were that easy. If I have to rely on someone else’s interpretation, hers seems as balanced as one can hope for—if she weren’t balanced, she wouldn’t have the access she exhibits.
One reason she knew change was coming and will continue I copy for you here:
Two dynamics will define political change in the NE for years to come. The first is…identity, the accumulative package of family, faith, race, traditions, and ties to a specific piece of land. The second dynamic is…youth and an emerging generation of younger leaders. The young have never been so important: More than seventy percent of the people living in the regions stretching from Tehran to Rabat are under thirty years old. (p. 137)
Finally, Wright discusses Iraq, and the American war there. Each sentence reads like another board nailed on the scaffolding of a once great country’s demise (ours and theirs). Here Wright tells us what must happen if government change in the Middle East is to succeed:
Change in today’s Middle East is likely to succeed only when all major players—not just the majority—believe they have a stake in the new order. Rival identities will otherwise derail it. The sense of common nationhood is still too fragile. Suspicions run too deep. ..Iraq is a telling, and tragic precedent.
First off, let me say that Wafa Sultan, an American psychiatrist born in Syria, is a very brave woman. She clearly believes that the Muslim religion d First off, let me say that Wafa Sultan, an American psychiatrist born in Syria, is a very brave woman. She clearly believes that the Muslim religion damages believers, and says so openly, and loudly. Judging from her expectation of how such talk will be received among the primary audience for her essays, fellow Muslims, she qualifies as heroic. America is involved in fighting two wars in Muslim countries, and has contemplated another (Iran). What I’d most like to hear is that 9/11 was an aberration, that Muslim countries are filled with reasonable people who, being human, have the same general needs, desires, hopes as the rest of non-Muslims on the planet. Unfortunately, I did not get that reassurance in this book.
In an earlier review for Jean Sasson’s book, Growing Up bin Laden, I mentioned that Osama Bin Laden appears to hate his enemies more than he loves his family, his countrymen, or his country. Wafa Sultan says much the same thing about all Islamic-adherents in this book. She uses references from the Koran to illuminate the sources of the rhetoric coming from mullahs, clerics, and ordinary citizens of Muslim countries. I appreciate someone leading me through the maze of translations of the Koran and pulling out references, but I did have the uneasy feeling one may get when lines of any big, old, religious text (like the Bible) are quoted. She certainly knows more than I do about Islam, so I must defer to her insistence that these quotes are interpreted literally. Not being a big fan of the Bible, I am not sure how many out there take the words literally today. I would guess a small proportion of those that call themselves Christian are literal in their interpretation of the Bible. I have no idea whether or not I could assume the same level of rationality in the Middle East. Wafa Sultan says no.
The author makes many good points which resonate. First, she does not spare herself in her critique, but shows how Islam made her shallow, and narrow-minded in her dealings with Islam’s traditional enemies, Jews, for instance. She also points out that Muslim tend to view themselves as victims, and as such, may have held themselves back from achieving bigger things with their oil wealth and opportunities. Another good point is that the less compelling the idea (Islam), the more virulent the defenders must be to keep it alive (threatening their own people and infidels with destruction). However, the author is somewhat messianic in her message that Muslims cannot be taken at face value, and can never be trusted to interact truthfully with nonbelievers. It is a grim message, and a difficult one for Americans brought up on laissez faire and 'live and let live'. Perhaps hers is a lesson we disregard at our peril....more
Undoubtedly an exceptional mind here. There is no surprise that she has attacted so much attention. One only wishes that her personal life could have Undoubtedly an exceptional mind here. There is no surprise that she has attacted so much attention. One only wishes that her personal life could have been richly rewarding, but then, one can't have everything. Perhaps if she had a family that loved her, we would not be the recipients of her mental largesse. A couple of things stand out: 1) this is yet another woman from a Muslim background telling us Islam an irreparable and damaged religion focused on doing harm to women and non-Muslims and we should do everything we can to make them change their minds--especially when Islamists emigrate to Europe or the USA; 2) an American encountered by Ali when boarding an airplane said that "Americans cherish their diversity" when challenged to put greater restrictions on the behaviors of Muslims in the USA; 3) she herself admits that many Muslims are "instinctively appalled by the violence committed in the name of their faith." She asserts that most Muslims do not know the content of the Quran or the Hadith or any Islamic scripture. My thoughts exactly. I have often thought that many Muslims are rather like many Christians who have barely read the Bible. They are just ordinary people trying to get on with their life. They have a superstructure--a religious belief--but it is not profound or deep. It gives them a parameter for daily life and behaviors. I believe most mothers, Muslim or not, would be appalled if their sons decided to blow themsleves up for any reason at all.
I am grateful to Ayaan Hirsi Ali for writing the book and giving us insight into her life, her family, and her thoughts. The section on her family was difficult to read, in fact. It was so depressingly brutal, one cannot imagine how this woman emerged whole. But she certainly has my attention, and I wholehartedly support her cause--to stop violence against women in any country, culture, or religion that seeks to harm them....more
Outstanding mystery. Meyer manages to condense a huge amount of activity into "13 hours" and just manages to interest us in more of what he has to wriOutstanding mystery. Meyer manages to condense a huge amount of activity into "13 hours" and just manages to interest us in more of what he has to write. His characters are uniformly interesting, but each is unique. I could clearly see that the reason I liked this mystery so much is that I was interested in having each of his prickly characters succeed. Thirteen hours refers to the time it takes for two(!) murders to be solved, by the former alchoholic, divorced dad who holds the rank of Inspector in the South African police force. Outstanding imagining by Meyer, who seems just to get better with each book....more
Against my better judgement, I took the recommendation of a colleague to have a look at this. I only got to page 89, but I think I got the gist of it.Against my better judgement, I took the recommendation of a colleague to have a look at this. I only got to page 89, but I think I got the gist of it. Can see it's appeal, and I can especially see it being successful with the Twilight crowd. It has just that mixture of attractive, otherworldly teenager facing a new school environment and suspicious adults. It has flecks of science sprinkled throughout, which may also appeal to youths. However, I lean toward the slightly more realistic, like, say, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. ...more
Eve Brown-Waite gives the reader a good idea of what it must have been like to be a Peace Corp volunteer in the late 1980s in South America, and then Eve Brown-Waite gives the reader a good idea of what it must have been like to be a Peace Corp volunteer in the late 1980s in South America, and then she describes expatriate life in one of the more remote outposts in Africa. Undoubtedly she succeeded in living well in these difficult environments because of her upbeat personality and sense of humor, though I wished she would allow the story to tell itself rather than injecting herself so forcefully into each vignette. But then it would be a different book, and this succeeds for what it is. I found myself wanting to get back 'to Africa' when I had to break for work.
Waite-Brown wrote this some 15-20 years (not 25-30 years, sorry) after her travels as a Peace Corps volunteer, perhaps using letters to family and friends to preserve the freshness of the images, and the shock of realization all first-time world travellers recognize. I have no problem with the observations. I would just have preferred the steadier sensibility of the older Brown-Waite to make comment.
Tried this but just couldn't stay still enough for it to grab me. Must move along. I did like Steinhauer's The Tourist and trust it is as well done, bTried this but just couldn't stay still enough for it to grab me. Must move along. I did like Steinhauer's The Tourist and trust it is as well done, but the first part seemed more than a little unlikely. Maybe later....more
One mustn’t feel side-swiped by this discussion of a change in focus of the traditional military. In our hearts, we’ve known it for some time, that ouOne mustn’t feel side-swiped by this discussion of a change in focus of the traditional military. In our hearts, we’ve known it for some time, that our military with it’s focus on heavy machinery and fighter-jets we can’t use (the F-22)—that this magnificent fighting force composed of brash young kids listening to i-pods and practicing on video games--wasn’t really “winning” the wars in Iraq, and in Afghanistan. We’ve seen also that our National Guard is increasingly deployed for disaster relief, construction and reconstruction, rather than for fighting. After the Haiti earthquake, we sent in troops—and they had to keep peace. It’s odd, that we spend so much time teaching our fresh-faced young men to kill and then direct them to save instead. It appears to be time to rethink this—rethink the plan we have for our military, the money we spend on it, the demands we expect to be placed on it.
I actually agree with the Kaldor thesis that we should fundamentally rethink our strategic balance of weapons. I believe it is very unlikely state-based government is going to drop a nuclear bomb on anyone, except possibly one as unhinged as the present North Korean government. Even then, it is likely cooler minds in the chain of command would stop that atrocity before it became reality. Kaldor argues that we provoke the deadly venom of mad-states by not having deniability when it comes to nuclear. In the end, I see no reason to preserve the nuclear option. Even in retaliation, it is unlikely a state contemplating using a nuclear weapon could present a reasonable moral argument for doing so.
I agree with the authors Beebe and Kaldor that non-state insurgent groups and weather are going to be the sources of our greatest security challenges in the coming years, and that perhaps we should think about creating a security force, a military, with a fundamentally different focus: defensive rather than offensive, stabilizing rather than destabilizing, sustaining a different kind of troop. Instead of the “militarization of diplomacy” where DOD personnel assume public diplomacy and assistance responsibilities that civilian agencies to not have the trained staff for to fill, perhaps we should think about the ‘diplomization’ of the military, where a civilian-led operation has a policing arm separate from a military arm separate from a construction arm. Different roles, different teams, same mission?
Beebe talks about his work looking at what “security” means to people in different countries in Africa, and comes to the conclusion that their concerns are daily-living immediacies, not long-term possibilities. Finally, the two directly address the role of energy in our on-going concerns: “Energy security is a global problem linked to climate change and so, instead of geopolitical competition, there needs to be a global strategy that combines diversification, transparency, and human security.” Both authors recognize they will be criticized for this approach (for being too optimistic), but our children may surprise us with their wisdom, pragmatism, and innovation. This is a short, clear, thoughtful framing of the debate. ...more
Read this book a second time, years later and like it very much more. Have huge respect for what Mackenzie managed to do. Will attempt to read everythRead this book a second time, years later and like it very much more. Have huge respect for what Mackenzie managed to do. Will attempt to read everything she's written. She's that good. Here's the second review:
Jassy Mackenzie is something else. Her main character is a woman, a South African private investigator named Jade de Jong. Her name itself drenches one in expectations about what she looks like, sounds like, eats for dinner…but they would all be wrong.
This first in a series is far more assured than most first novels and leaves an impression of South Africa, of the land, of the people and the crime encountered there. There is a level of violence described that is unfamiliar to me, an American who lives with unparalleled mass murder and gun violence daily. This violence is cruel and personal and inventive.
When I read novels with this kind of violence, I fear for the author. To get inside the head of a pathological creature is wounding. But most other characters have human characteristics we can love. And the pace is pretty much nonstop.
Jade returned to South Africa to carry out an act of revenge for the death of her father. She would like to call it retribution, but over the length of plan-making to carry out her project, she discovers some unsettling news that makes her raison d’état untenable.
I find for the first time I am curious about the differences between a Beretta and a Glock (Jade’s preferred weapon) to distinguish the finer characteristics of the people that carry them. I also learn about South Africa’s so-called boerewors curtain, the section of Pretoria that houses poor whites who were former farmers and traditional Afrikaners and who haven’t changed their culture despite the changes in the larger society.
I admire Mackenzie’s skill in flipping our expectations for this straightforward novel into something surprising, tense and almost personal. We don’t want Jade de Jong to be wrong, to do wrong, to lose her chance at happiness. The man she loves, David Patel, can hardly measure up. But we have to trust that ‘people love who they love’ and sometimes we may not make the same choice. But I do love that she gets vulnerable in this way.
Can’t wait to read more of Jade de Jong and Jassy Mackenzie.
------------- Took a long 1-day roundtrip to NYC and managed to read this on the way. Fortunately, it did not have gratuitous violence, though one very clever but certifiable madman wreaked his share of havoc. The main characters could, perhaps, have used a little more fleshing out. I couldn't picture them well. And the author had the disconcerting habit of changing points of view for a chapter, but not often enough for it to be part of the book's style. Either we know what's going on in the character's mind in their own words, or we have to take their actions and translate. Since most of the book is this sort of character translation, it seems odd to suddenly shift point of view, and only for one chapter or so. One doesn't trust the author for putting us in their heads. But I love stories about South Africa, and Jassy (nice name) does creditably. I see the book is dedicated to Deon, whom I assume, perhaps wrongly, to be the great Deon Meyer, who also writes mysteries set in Africa. He is a fine author to aspire to emulate....more
This marvelous examination of the motivations and mandates behind the zoo industry raises all the expected questions and allows the reader to make theThis marvelous examination of the motivations and mandates behind the zoo industry raises all the expected questions and allows the reader to make their own judgements. Both sides are adequately represented, and the humanity, as well as the...animality (? take that as a parallel for the animal side) of the business is emotional and heartfelt. The acknowledgements thank Yann Martel, the author of Life of Pi for showing the author the possibilties in imagining an inner life for animals. It is a stupendous job of journalism, done with sensitivity and acumen. Bravo!...more
Mankell reaches a little for the premise in this mystery, and succeeds somewhat. It could be an interesting prod to inventiveness in a writing class: Mankell reaches a little for the premise in this mystery, and succeeds somewhat. It could be an interesting prod to inventiveness in a writing class: include China in your next writing assignment. This mystery becomes a little unwieldy and farfetched when it goes back over several continents and several generations in Part 2, but Mankell comes back in Part 3 to something much more interesting: a discussion of the economic and political changes taking place in a rapidly modernizing China, and a slowly deteriorating Africa. Especially interesting are ruminations on China in Africa. If readers remember Le Carre's last couple of books set in Africa The Mission Song and The Constant Gardner, this a polemic similar, but comes off a little better.
Anyhow, some comfort reading for those who are going to read Mankell regardless. Scandanavia still seems cold and remote, Beijing fast and flashy, Africa hot but beautiful. ...more
In Arabian Sands Thesiger documents a time, a place, and a people on the cusp of change. Largely responsible for mapping the 250,000 square miles In Arabian Sands Thesiger documents a time, a place, and a people on the cusp of change. Largely responsible for mapping the 250,000 square miles of the largest sand desert in the world, The Empty Quarter, in the area of modern Yemen, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Oman, Thesiger realized that his work hastened the demise of the way of life he loved.
"Regretfully, however, I realize that the maps I made helped others, with more material aims, to visit and corrupt a people whose spirit once lit the desert like a flame."
Despite having no interest in writing, Thesiger is a natural. He describes the Sands: "gold and silver, orange with cream, brick-red wtih white, burnt-brown with pink, yellow with grey--they have an infinite variety of colors and shades." He records conversations and arguments, instances of laughter among men at night around a campfire, snatches of stories retold among his companions with much frequency. His closest friends were young boys when he chose them to accompany him. He describes them, transparently to us, with such clear attraction and admiration, that we know he held himself in check all those years. The boys accompanied Thesiger over a period of years, time and again ignoring dangers and deprivations to be in his company.
This is a classic which stirs regret for a culture untouched....more
It's funny, but I actually want to look up other things Jeffrey Tayler has written, to see if he really is as depressed as he seems to be. He planned It's funny, but I actually want to look up other things Jeffrey Tayler has written, to see if he really is as depressed as he seems to be. He planned and took this godforsaken trip (in the 1990's) to the Congo to break a personal downward spiral, and lo! it just got worse. He has the grace to admit it was a very bad idea, but we all have to admit he wouldn't have known that until he tried it. He is brutally frank: "My drama of self-actualization proved obscenely trivial beside the suffering of the Zaireans and the injustices of their past." He never finished the trip--taking a barge up the Congo River to Kisangani and then taking a pirogue down again to Kinshasa--the longest navigable stretch (1,084 miles) recreating a portion of Stanley's historic journey.
This is similiar to the trip taken by British author Tim Butcher (in 2004?) in Blood River. Butcher had Tayler's work to learn from, and acknowledges that earlier attempt, though the scope of his trip was a little different and ten years later. Sadly things seemed only to have gotten more harrowing in the Congo, a country completely ungoverned and lawless. How does man function in such a state? Very badly indeed. I can't imagine what it would take for residents to unlearn the distrust and suspicion that has kept them alive in such a place and actually begin to cooperate with each other to achieve something better....more
What is it with me and muggy, hot, equatorial places and rivers? Like the book The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David GWhat is it with me and muggy, hot, equatorial places and rivers? Like the book The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann, Blood River recounts the tale of Tim Butcher's crazy obsession to the trace the routes of a great explorer, Stanley in this case, through the Congo. While the rest of the world has become more accessible in the past half century, these two equatorial locales on different continents show that winning a battle (finding a route, establishing a forward post, or even building a city) is not winning a war (creating a functioning state). Vegetation has reclaimed much of the railway in the Congo, and once busy trading hubs have fallen into disrepair with no functioning services. Rule of law is unknown. Despair is endemic.
In a way, the Congo may be a perfect example of how bad things can get when a state goes so wrong that great wealth of a few is squandered in the face of the unbounded poverty of the majority. And the resources are there for everyone to share in the future. All I could think was to have millions and millions of people descend on the Congo at once--the equivalent of holding a thrashing baby to silence it--and rock it into silence, until it unclenched enough to learn and notice there might be a better way to get what one needs. It is a terrible waste. Mankind is not always to be admired. We need to find a way to bring out the best in the Congo.
---------------- August 2014
I am embarrassed by this review now that I have listened to King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild. I did not know when I wrote this what a horror was perpetuated there, and how many slaughtered. Survivors continued the unbridled greed, notably President Mobutu Sese Seko and his offspring. I am aghast at my ignorance and the horror of what the Congo has had to live with. ...more
I sped-read this when it came out because I'm a sucker for books about understanding the capacities of wild animals. It also had sexy come-ons: beautiI sped-read this when it came out because I'm a sucker for books about understanding the capacities of wild animals. It also had sexy come-ons: beautiful woman, murder, safari photography. But I thought it thin, and the mystery of this woman's life felt unresolved. I got a picture of a woman, a marriage, and of a career filming animals in the wild, but it all felt pieced together and voyeuristic. Perhaps she knew how difficult it was for people to get past her beauty to her accomplishments--she kept herself too tightly wrapped and private for this author to uncover. Still, I would rather have it than nothing at all. ...more
How does one describe a war? Was there ever a war that seemed like a success? Oh yes--I remember now. The one Bush,Jr declared finished after a month How does one describe a war? Was there ever a war that seemed like a success? Oh yes--I remember now. The one Bush,Jr declared finished after a month or two.
Imagine you are lying flat on the hot, dusty surface of a road east of Baghdad, in Rustamiyah. Like an IED, say, or an EFP. (Improvised Explosive Device or Explosively Formed Penetrator) Imagine you take a picture of the world from that viewpoint. I felt Finkel's book allowed us to view the war in Iraq from a similar vantagepoint. A single battalion (the 2-16) experiences "the surge" in this book. We hear a rounded account, from the Lieutenant Colonel (Colonel K) leading the group, to the replacement soldiers for the dead and the wounded. We hear from the wives, the translators, the medalled, the battle-weary. There are no victors.
It is terrifying, war is. If you want to see what bad is, you can have a look here. As we strive in our lives to achieve, and be the best of what man can be, our soldiers are seeing the worst of what man can be. I don't have words enough to express my sorrow......more
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