When I set out to write a book about the natural history of breasts, I knew I'd have to answer some awkward questions about my book topic. At a...
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A bittersweet story of love, but also a moving commentary on the changes in rural life in America in the 20th century. Many of the passages where Berry describes the changes in small town life and farming in Kentucky remind me of the changes I've heard of from my grandfather and father about ranching and cowboying in Texas.
Mostly the book made me want to move to a camp house by a river and spend my days watching the fish and birds and trees.
A glimpse into the life of a 14-year-old South African girl, Khosi, who is trying to figure out what she believes and who she is. She is caught in the struggle between Western thought and African culture, between the ideals of her mother's generation and the traditions of her grandmother's generation. Those traditions and lines of thought are more than just mere philosophy for Khosi -- she is faced with very real situations, including the looming threat of HIV that haunts so many in South Africa. For her and her loved ones the reality of the spirit world, sickness, Western medicine, and traditional healing is life and death, not theoretical talk. One thing that fascinated me about the story is the portrayal of a connection between Christianity and science in the minds of South Africans. For so many in the West, Christianity and science are portrayed to be at odds, but it seems that the opposite is the case in this part of Africa.
I recommend reading the book for an understanding of the worldview of this generation of South Africans and of the crisis of HIV/AIDS, as seen through the story of a sympathetic young girl rather than through a list of faceless statistics.
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rebeccadiann has commented on (2) products.
Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry
rebeccadiann, July 28, 2011
A bittersweet story of love, but also a moving commentary on the changes in rural life in America in the 20th century. Many of the passages where Berry describes the changes in small town life and farming in Kentucky remind me of the changes I've heard of from my grandfather and father about ranching and cowboying in Texas.Mostly the book made me want to move to a camp house by a river and spend my days watching the fish and birds and trees.
This Thing Called the Future by J L Powers
rebeccadiann, July 21, 2011
A glimpse into the life of a 14-year-old South African girl, Khosi, who is trying to figure out what she believes and who she is. She is caught in the struggle between Western thought and African culture, between the ideals of her mother's generation and the traditions of her grandmother's generation. Those traditions and lines of thought are more than just mere philosophy for Khosi -- she is faced with very real situations, including the looming threat of HIV that haunts so many in South Africa. For her and her loved ones the reality of the spirit world, sickness, Western medicine, and traditional healing is life and death, not theoretical talk. One thing that fascinated me about the story is the portrayal of a connection between Christianity and science in the minds of South Africans. For so many in the West, Christianity and science are portrayed to be at odds, but it seems that the opposite is the case in this part of Africa.I recommend reading the book for an understanding of the worldview of this generation of South Africans and of the crisis of HIV/AIDS, as seen through the story of a sympathetic young girl rather than through a list of faceless statistics.